FLY LADY - Laundry & Kitchen

I am so thrilled to get back into my system. Everything has been kind of let go since May. I've done the basics but really need to do a deep clean, back on track and be ready to decorate for the holidays.

Things are so bad that I'm picking a day this week for different areas. So lets look at what I'm doing this week and what constitutes that area:

MONDAY - Clear the sorting table & clean the cat area in the laundry room.
I've had an 8' table in my kitchen for a couple of months. I've been using that as a sorting surface for mixed media items from the studio. Today is the day that stuff gets put away. The table will stay up.

For the cat area, I take the litterbox outside and give that a good cleaning, shake out and wash the throw rugs underneath, sweep, steam, mop the laundry room floor. Put the cat box back with clean rugs and litter.

TUESDAY - Sort out the kitchen cupboards
Since I need to go grocery shopping, this is a good time to see what's up there. Some things can go back down to over-stock. Some probably just needs pitched or turned into bird/ squirrel food.

WEDNESDAY - Take down the Halloween decor and pack away. Set up the minimal fall decor
Put the sorting table away.
Sweep/ mop kitchen floor and wash down cabinets

THURSDAY - Clean out fridge for garbage day
Make Fall curtains and shelf liners so I'll have them for next fall.

FRIDAY -  Give everything a once-over and be ready for next week's new room.

That's it for this week.
Feel overwhelmed about where to start?

TIP - Pick one area to focus on. Put blinders on to the entire room then just pick ONE task.
One bite at a time.

Enjoy the Journey!

WEIGH IN 11-4-19

162-172-135

YAY!!!

Do you know what I think was the key?  Well, two things.

I stopped drinking my cup of fluffy during the week. I did have one on Thursday for Halloween.

The other thing was making sure I was adding dark vegetables.

If I went to Chinese, I focused on sea food and the Mongolian stir-fry with fresh vegeatbles such as broccoli, onion, green peppers.

At home, I did a lot of my own stir fry.  I love them! They're quick, easy to prepare and very filling.

My numbers are a bit elevated this morning but I'm working on them.

One thing I'm focusing on this week is to pay attention to what foods may trigger spikes. 

I have gotten away from keeping my food journal. I kept one the first 6 months and things went really well. I got away from that when the girls were here so I need to get back on that train.

Since I need to grocery shop tomorrow, I'm going to look at what I have on hand then fill in gaps. 

What are you plans for the week? Do you have a spot that gives you issues? Something you just can't seem to get on the motivational train? If I can help, give me a shout. I'll do the leg work and pass on the information.

Enjoy the Journey!

AIR FRYER FRIDAY - Hot dogs for breakfast?

If it's one thing Bob and I do well, it's turn leftovers into great tasting breakfasts. With that in mind, when I needed something for a breakfast sandwich a couple of weeks ago and didn't have any of your typical breakfast meats thawed out, I reached for the container of left-over grilled hot dogs.

I started by frying each of us an egg:

I left them a bit on the runny side so they would finish cooking in the oven. Just let them cook to this stage, stab the yolks and swirl them around in the whites, wait a minute then flip. Let them cook on that side lone enough to grab your plate.

Next, I cut the hot dogs lengthwise and warmed them in the pan just to give a bit of sear:

While I did this, Bob buttered four slices of Kings Sweet Hawaiian bread. 

Note: I discovered later that they should have been buttered LIGHTLY ;-) as the bread was a bit soft.

Bob layed 2 slices of the bread on the baking rack, then I transfered an egg on to each one then 4 of the hot dog strips. Bob added a slice of Velveeta then the remaining slices of bread.

We used the TOAST setting on the second highest darksection to get a good toast. As you can see from the picture below, one corner got a bit darker than the rest. Setting the amount of time selects your 'color' at the same time. So if you like your toast lightly toasted then you would watch your dark setting and go from there. 

I think part of the darkening came from the thickness of the sandwich, making it closer to the top element. We may not have had the issue if we'd just been doing 'toast'. 

This was the result:

After we removed them from the oven, we added slices of tomato.. the last from our garden harvest.

We would definitely make these again.

Keep in mind that any recipe you do the first time is going to bring you to a trial an error point. Keep a small notebook handy to write down what you did so next time you know where to make adjustments. 

Enjoy the Journey!

CHANGES!

Good  morning, everyone!

I guess I failed to tell everyone yesterday I'd been absent most of October for a couple of reasons.
First off, my oldest sister passed away on Oct. 7th. I received the news on the 8th as I was trying to prep/ schedule blog posts before leaving for a writer's conference on the 10th.  After that phone call, all I wanted to do was make sure I didn't leave anything at home for my trip.
Thank you for your patience.

Change is coming.
Now, before I go any further, let me say that I am not fond of change. However, sometimes even I recognize things have to change for the greater good.

For me, that change is dropping an activity from my life.

Three years ago I became a Stampin' Up! demonstrator.
I signed up for what was to be a hobby demonstrator. That means I didn't care about 'selling', I just wanted to make my quota every quarter to get my discount. I love their product and the discount certainly helps.

Over the past few months I started working more from a selling standpoint and discovered, that is not where I want to be. I either have to give the business everything or go back to being a hobby dem. I've chosen the latter.
1 - I can't put 100% into a business my heart just is not in.
If I'm going to spend my time promoting anything, it's going to be my books and my etsy shop.
With a blogging schedule in place I can market both of those.

2 - I have to be able to schedule my time around Bob's on again/ off again schedule. To build an on-line business like Stampin' Up! I'd have to be 'on' every day, nearly all day to see any kind of a return.

With those points in mind, I've made the decision to close KellysCreativeStamping in all forms on social media. I'll be changing to KellysCreativeDreams, which will include my blog that I've had since 2008, my YouTube channel and my FB page.

As far as this blog goes, nothing is really changing. The only thing is I will be going down to 3 posts a week between now and the first of the year. I'm trimming back everywhere so that I may enjoy the holidays.

Here, you'll see me Monday (weigh in) Tuesday (cleaning/ decorating) Friday (Air Fryer)

I'll see you here on Friday with another recipe for Air Fryer Friday!

WEIGH IN 10-28-19

162/175/135

Yeah, there is that. Between Bob being home, the writer's conference and lots of eating out.. I'm back to where I was.  up 13 pounds!

Then there was this picture taken at conference with me and Western Historical author, Linda Broday.

In case you don't know.. I'm the chubby one on the right. Ugh!  So not happy with that picture. 

But change is coming!

Bob is back on the boat and our weight challenge is on. This time the pot is worth $200! Whoo Hoo

Before Bob left I had him help relocate the Gazelle so I could get to the machine. Access was difficult before as we didn't take time to negotiate the positioning when we first moved the Gazelle to the office. 

I've also purchased a tablet holder I hope I can put in place to hold my iPad to watch videos while I walk.  Speaking of videos, I need to look up how to attach the holder to the bar on the Gazelle. Says will fit up to a 3" bar. I'm hoping I don't need gorilla strength to set it up or that part of the walking will be on hold til Bob gets home on the 13th.

The other thing I love to do is dance!  

I used to go dancing eery weekend. Even after we were married and Bob wasn't a dancer. He didn't mind me going out dancing. He knew I was coming home to him the same way I went out. LOL... well, except a bit exhausted from dancing non-stop for 4 hours.

So I'm taking up dancing again. 

Granted, in my own living room but I love to dance. 

I don't care if it's to Richard Simmons or just cranking tunes on the stereo/ satellite. 

I have an important update tomorrow so come on back.

In the mean time... Enjoy the Journey!

~Kelly

AIR FRYER FRIDAY - Emeril Everyday

Since I bought the Emeril 360, I get emails with great tips, recipes and suggestions. Last week, they pointed me to the Emeril Everyday AirFryer Community on Facebook.

Most of you know I am not a FB fan, but I figured this would be a great way to get tips/ tricks and ideas for foods I've not thought to try yet.

I'm crazy busy this week as I'm at a writers conference. So I'm posting this to make sure you have something fun and hopefully, interesting in my absence.

Click this LINK and come join the community!

~Enjoy the Journey!

WEIGH IN 10-07-19

162/172/135

On the downside, the number in the middle isn't lower today.

On the upside, the number is down 3 pounds from Saturday.

Let's back-track to Thursday when Bob and I did our weigh-in. His number hadn't changed from when he left and mine had gone up. That means the pot next time home will be worth $200. After what I spent this morning on Stampin' Up! product, I could sure use that cash. 

Friday night, Bob and I went to dinner at a new Chinese buffet in Poplar Bluff - Chin's.. I'd been a couple of times but they opened after Bob left out so he'd not had the opportunity. Yesterday morning when I weighed... which is when I usually weigh for this blog post... I was 175! 

So I'm okay with the 172 this morning. Next week may or may not be better. I will be at a the Ozark Creative Writers conference from Thursday through Sunday. Normaly, I get a lot of walking in. From the room down to the convention center and back multiple times a day and I try to get in an early morning or late evening walk up to the historic Crescent Hotel at least once while I'm there. This year they are forcasting rain, possibly even with severe weather for Thursday through early morning on Saturday which means more driving than walking. Grrr... I so look forward to my trips to Eureka Springs but more so when I can do a lot of walking through the historic neighborhoods.

As a result of my upcoming travel, there may not be a weigh in next week. If I get home Sunday night I can step on the scales Monday morning and get this post up before Bob is awake. We'll see how the travel plans go.

Enjoy the Journey!

WEIGH IN 9-30-19

162/172/135

If you pop in and there's no weight, it's because I set the header up last week when I was mass-producing blog posts ahead of company.  I will be in to update my weight number as soon as they've gone.

Bob will be home on Wednesday. Somewhere in here they may be a vet visit. I'm also still hoping I've dropped a few pounds ahead of my trip to Ozark Creative Writers Conference next week. On the up-side, I usually lose at conference in spite of the amazing food because I do a lot of walking around Eureka Springs when I'm there. 

What ever is on tap for you this week, remember the most important thing...

Enjoy the Journey

AIR FRYER FRIDAY - BBQ Chicken Legs

Today's recipe came by mistake but sometimes those are the best kind of meals!

When I went shopping a couple of weeks ago I thought I'd purchased two bags of wind drummies to turn into BBQ wings. When I got home I realized I'd purchased two - #4 bags of full-sized chicken legs.

These legs weigh about #1/2 each. They are huge!

So I lined the drip tray with foil (this has become a habit for easier clean-up)
Then I lined the baking pan with foil as well... Again, that easy clean up factor.

I rolled each leg in BBQ sauce and placed on the baking sheet.
Position the rack on the BAKING level and turned the dial to BAKE.
I wanted these to cook slow so I set the temperature at 325* for 15 min. then hit start.

I've gotten in the habit of preheating BEFORE I put the pan in. I'm finding that putting the food in during the preheat tends to dry it out and not giving you a true cooking time reading.

When the little bell dinged that the oven was preheated, I slid the baking tray into place.
At the end of 15 minutes, I turned the legs over and went for about another 20  minutes.
You want an internal reading of 165*

While mine showed DONE both in temp and visuality near the bone, they still had a bit of tug. The two I have left over are in the small crock pot today with a bit of Peach Butter, 1/8 C of water and will simmer for awhile.

If you try any of my recipes, I'd love to hear from you! Let me know your results or if you do something different. We're all here to learn!

Enjoy the Journey!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!

By the time you read this post, I will be scurrying around putting final touches to fall decor before Kitty and Steve arrive. 

I plan to make sure the porch is pretty then sit and enjoy a cup of fluffy coffee.
Since this is National Pancake Day, A couple of pancakes with homemade Peach Butter accompanied by a couple slices of bacon are on my breakfast menu.

I've put dinner in the air fryer.. I'll have the Rotisserie Pulled Pork in a future post.

I'm just going to Enjoy the Journey!

RECIPE WEDNESDAY - Women's Health & Fitness Day!

When it comes to health, women need to lead the pack!
Face it... we are called upon to do EVERYTHING and we are often the last to take care of ourself.

Health and Fitness go hand in hand and TODAY is the day to make the decision to do something for YOU! Today is National Women's Health & Fitness Day

Perhaps your local community is holding a health fair of some type. Take some time today to check it out.

Not a 'joiner'? Yeah, me either. But we are on here together. Or you have friends on FB that need a little support.

Recently, our Stampin' Up! community on FB has started forming Accountability Buddies. Some only have one, then there's me that am blessed to have 4 (counting my team members). We check in with each other once a week via text/ email or my new favorite app Marco Polo.

Marco Polo is like Face Time and Texting had a baby. You can leave a visual message for anyone on your contact list that also has Marco Polo. They can watch in real time then respond or they can catch the message later and respond when it's convenient for them. The messages are there to refer back to later.

I'd love to have an accountability buddy for my workouts. Somehow the reminder on my calendar that rings at noon and says 'Did you exercise today?' just isn't cutting it LOL.

And if you want to talk food...

Today is National Lobster Day. Yep.. there is Lobster for dinner on my menu.

Every February, our local market gets in the 4 oz lobster tails for under $6  a piece. Mind you, this is the same 'add on' lobster tail you get at chain restaurants for $15!!  I stash 'egg money' back throughout the year then buy a case, which runs me about $200. Then we have lobster throughout the year. 

Today, there will be lobster and some large gulf shrimp in my future. Now if I'd just remembered to by mussels, I could have had a lobster boil!

In honor of Women's Health & Fitness, I think there will be some dance party in my future first!

Enjoy the Journey!

FLYLADY - Office/ Studio

I wanted to kick this series in weeks ago but I just couldn't get time to sit and put the posts together. This week is a great place to start as it's the area needing the most work - except the basement but we'll get to that later.

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, my sister and her SO are planning to be here on Thursday for a 4-day weekend. Aside from my birthday, the main reason for their visit is that Kitty really needs to look at my studio with fresh eyes.

She has seen my studio lots of times in the past but as she said "she didn't really know what she was looking at". Now that she is into Junk Journals, my stash takes on a whole new perspective for her.
Right now, the room is a disaster. I've not done anything as far as organizing since February. Between the grandgirls' visit and my own crafting, organization hasn't been a priority.

I'd promised Bob the living room would be back in order when he got home. I've been using the girls' beds as 'sorting central'.

My goal for the week: To be able to go right to anything Kitty might need or want to see.
1) Sort all of the Mixed Media items and put them away properly
2) File away past Paper Pumpkin kits
3) Bag stamps for the Etsy store
4) Have a clear area for each of us to work on our September journals.

Aside from the office, I need to put the rest of the house in order, clean the front deck and put up Fall/ Halloween decor. I'm about two weeks behind in getting that done. The laundry room is almost finished. Just need to hang a few things :-)

That's my housekeeping week. What's on yours? Do you decorate for the fall/ Halloween? If so, I'd love to see pics! you can follow me on Facebook

WEIGH IN 9-23-19 & Restless Leg Syndrome

162/171/135

I will be honest... I didn't try very hard this week. I also learned that I am more of a stress eater than I thought I was. 

Monday went well if you count finding out my dog needs surgery... and the only vet that can do it is having the same surgery but to his arm on Tuesday! He'll be out of surgery commission until January. He can assist one of the vets, but that vet has never done the surgery before. In the mean time, HoneyB (4 year old beagle/spaniel mix) is on pain meds two times a day until we can get him into surgery. Oh... he tore the tendons in his back left knee.

Skipping ahead, I tried another vet who used to be with this clinic  but has moved almost two hours away to be closer to family. Dr. Carmen is super. But she was out of the office until Thursday. She called to let me know that A) she isn't equipped to do that particular surgery and B) she is booked two months out!

So waiting for Dr. Mike to assist Dr. Johnny it is. 

Tuesday, I had multiple financial issues... none of which were mine.... including finding out I had a non-sufficient funds on an account I've not done anything with! come to find out, the money was never transferred when I set up the account. The check order bounced! Yep.. Tuesday was one of those days that I seldom have.

Wednesday was better. I ran a few errands and tried to catch up here at home.

Friday was errand day. Trash drop off, a bit of shopping and renewing my driver's license.

While dropping off the trash I pulled a muscle under my left rib. Breathing the rest of the day was difficult. Saturday I spent a lot of time at the crafting table so I wasn't tempted to try doing stuff around the house. 

As I type this.. it's Sunday. I'm cramming to get all of my blog posts for the week written so I can clean/ decorate my house ahead of my sister and her SO coming for a 4-day play weekend. 

Okay.. Now on to today's topic.

Today is Restless Leg Syndrome Awareness Day.

I suffered with leg cramps as a child. They called them growing pains. I had an iron deficiency and I suspect that's where they originated.

Restless Leg Syndrome can also be a sign of multiple other health issues, including diabetes. See this article HERE  Other factors can be as low-key as STRESS or PREGNANCY but also more chronic as Diabetes, Parkinsons or Kidney failure. 

If you struggle with Restless Leg Syndrome, consult your doctor to find out what may be the cause. 

Long day ahead of me but I am planning to Enjoy every step of the Journey!

AIR FRYER FRIDAY - Bacon!!!!

Good morning, everyone!

Today begins a new series - Air Fryer Friday!

Bob and I invested in the new Emeril 360 Air Fryer.

I spend a lot of time cooking just for me so turning on the big gas oven to do something small just doesn't make sense. I'm heating up the house, forcing the AC to run more, which increases my power bill.

We had a small toaster oven. We bought it at an estate auction about 15 years ago for $5... so I had something to cook in when we were coming down to do the house remodel. We hadn't added appliances yet. I had a microwave and a cooler. We didn't want appliances in until we had the new floor in place.

Bob uses and Air Fryer on the boat and talked about getting one for the house so when I saw the Emeril 360, I thought this would be the perfect match for both of us.


For years I've cooked bacon in the micro-wave using this little Bacon magic. There was a period where I went through two pounds of bacon a day! I wore out one of these cookers. They allowed approximately 98% of the fat to drip off and left a chewy goodness.

The Emeril 360 gives me the same result but it's on the counter more at my level LOL. Our microwave sits up on a shelf above the stove and is a bit challenging for me to reach at times. 

The rack will hold 4-5 pieces at a time. Place the rack on the Air Fryer position. I went with their recommendation of 400* I believe.

After 10 minutes, this is the result:

I placed a double-fold of paper towel on the door before I pulled the rack out so that remaining drips didn't wind up on the glass door. This made for easy clean up.

You can also just see that I lined the drip tray with a double fold of aluminum foil. There isn't a lot of room to slide beneath the heating bars once you've put the foil on so just take your time and guide it in.

BIG TIP: If you do not have a dishwasher.. I know, I'm still a dinosaur - lol ... run a sink of Hot soapy water to put your drip tray and rack into as soon as you're finished. Clean up is so much easier.

While the bacon was cooking, I mixed up pancake batter and got out the cast iron skillet.

Not sure what I'll show next week. I did BBQ Chicken legs last night that turned out AMAZING! We did BBQ ribs and New York strip steaks... Like a dummy, I deleted them off my phone before I transferred them to the computer!

I hope you'll check out the air fryer and join me in testing out recipes!

What would you like me to test for a future post? Let me know in the comments below and I'll do  my best to accommodate!

Enjoy the Journey!

RECIPE WEDNESDAY - Recipe for Better Health

NOTE: Beginning this week, Recipe Wednesday will become Air Fryer Friday some weeks and other general recipes will still run on Wednesday's... just not every week.

On Monday I talked about the extra ice cream and coffee I've been allowing myself.
While these haven't really affected my sugar, they can if larger amounts... or over a period of time. So far my numbers are pretty much what is normal for me.

Prior to the girls' arrival this summer I also got away from my Vinegar/ Detox tea routines, which I will explain in a future video (I promise) I also got away from checking my sugar every morning when the little notebook I was using to track ran out of pages.

I've since set up a new booklet. I will show you in a minute.

I do know that I do NOT want to be this person:

Instead, I try keeping an eye on my sugar bu watching the amount of carbs I eat. Carbs are the big factor. Thankfully, I'm more of a protein kind of gal.

I found this cute bag at SEMOR SAVINGS in Seymour Missouri. While I received a convenient bag with my tester, I needed something large enough to also hold a travel pack of kleenex and my Happy Planner Micro Notes.

Tru-Matrix testing supplies from Walgreens

Happy Planner Micro Notes

The first Micro Notes I used, I was putting my # on one full page!  For this new one, I broke out the washi tape and am doing a 'week on two pages' planner spread. That way I'm getting more use of the page. I still have room to make additional notes on any given day.

So there's my pre-diabetic monitoring. I'm back to checking every morning (note, this picture was taken on Monday). 

Time to get back to routine.

WEIGH IN 9-16-19

162/171/135

Oops!

I also think I know why. Two things. 1) the soft serve ice cream cones at the local gas station and 2) a larger cup of fluffy 2x a day every day.

Things I need to change!

Beginning this morning, I'm back to my smaller cup of fluffy. I cant' start my day without coffee. That's just not going to happen, but I don't need the larger cup and not 2x a day. At least with the smaller one if I feel I want a second cup later in the day, I might be okay.

The soft serve was something I never enjoyed before dentures. My teeth were too sensitive. Now I can actually eat ice cream, enjoy the treat and eat the cone without issue.  But there's the key word.

TREAT

Mind you, I wasn't eating ice cream every day because I try not to leave the house but you can bet if I had to go into West Plains than the trip back through Mt. View usually included a stop at The Anchor for a chocolate soft serve.  Now, I'll try limiting that 'treat' to a couple times a month rather than once a week. 

As to the Phase Plan with Fast Metabolism. That was an epic fail. 

Our freezers are full of bits of this and that in the form of leftovers. They need cleared out. 

I'm not talking unhealthy items. Mostly proteins. But they do need eaten so we can move forward with new options. While I don't think that has had anything to do with the gained pounds, they just weren't conducive to the Fast Metabolism.

My final issue is that I'm just not moving enough. I boot up the computer between 5 and  6 a.m. and I'm on here til around 7 p.m. Between five blogs, three businesses and networking, I'm sIMIT itting A LOT!

TODAY BEGINS A NEW CHAPTER

1 - I have to MOVE more. 

      I've been seeing commercials for the Figure 8 workout. While I'm sure there is more to the program, all I see is dance moves. A combination of Zumba, Latin moves, and Richard Simmons. 

I LOVE TO DANCE! So why am I not putting on Richard Simmons, Zumba or just my favorite dance music and moving every day? Excellent Question!

2 - LIMIT the coffee and ice cream

      I CAN do this!  Lottery Tickets but no ice cream. LOL

I'm sitting here with my smaller cup of coffee. I'll go back to having my larger one only on Sunday. That's the day I either power work (when Bob is on the boat) or lounge at the table with him til mid-morning just enjoying our time together.

I have 6 weeks til OCW... the annual writer's conference. I really do not want to be back UP to my old weight but at the rate I've been going, that is a possibility.

Time for a CHANGE!

What's on your plan for the week.  Did you know that if you make your plan public you are more apt to follow through? Come on! Share your story. Let's do this TOGETHER.

Whatever your plan, Enjoy the Journey!

FAST METABOLISM - Pahse 2

Today begins Phase 2. I thought today, I'd share the food list for today and tomorrow.

PHASE 2 - Thursday/ Friday

VEGGIES
Green Beans
Mushrooms

FRUITS
Lemons/ Limes

MEATS
Lean meats - Beef/ Chicken/ Pork/ Turkey
Buffalo
Deli Meats - Nitrate Free
Fish - Flounder/ Salmon/ Halibut/ Tuna
Lamb
Sausage - Turkey/ Chicken
Turkey Breast
Turkey Bacon
Egg Whites
Venison

BROTHS/ ETC
Broth - Beef/ Chicken
Dried Herbs
Garlic - Fresh/ Salt/ Powder
Ketchup - no sugar/ syrup
Mustard
Decaf Tea/ coffee
Salt & Pepper
Onion Salt / Powder
Cinnamon
Sweeteners - Stevia
Vanilla Extract
Peppermint Extract
Vinegar

I think the Fast Metabolism will be my food routine on the weeks Bob is on the boat. When he's home, I'll still try to implement the components into our meals. Bob is open to pretty much whatever I fix as long as I don't ask him to eat too many 'green' veggies... you know, the ones that are best for him. ;-)

So as not to have a post over the weekend, I'll be back tomorrow to show you what Phase 3 looks like.

Enjoy the Journey
~Kelly

RECIPE WEDNESDAY - Vitamins & Fast Metabolism

While I've always tried to eat healthy (okay, most of the time), sometimes I need a little structure. As I said in Monday's post, my sugar numbers have been back up due to 'not' staying on track while the girls were here.

DISCLAIMER:
I am not a dietician/ pharmacist/ nutritionist, etc. Expert in anything. I just know what works for me.
Do your own research and listen to your body.

First, let me give you a rundown of my routine.

Morning:
8 oz of warm lemon water with a tsp. of raw honey.
This helps cleanse the liver, which will help rid the body of excess glucose.

Breakfast
2-3 days a week: old-fashioned oat meal with diced peaches/ cinnamon and a 1/4 c half & half
 Cinnamon is great for lowering glucose. While fruit is a natural sugar, this also provides fiber           the body needs. Same for the oatmeal.

Morning Vitamins  1200mg Berberine - take 2.
Berberine is a Chines vegetarian supplement that will help block  sugar
Apple Cider Vinegar tablets 480 mg per serving.(take 2 / 1-3 times per day) I take them 3 times a day
Chromium - 1000 mg - take 1
Chromium is a system cleanser. Lets your body only retain what it needs and flush the rest.
CoQ10 - 200 mg - Good for heart function. My mom died of a heart attack so I know there is history
Cinnamon - 1000 mg per 2 tablets.
Super B Complex - 1 tablet for Metabolism.  I have a slow metabolism.
Ocuvite for 50+ - For eye health
VirMax - Blood Sugar stabilizer - take 1

I take 2 vinegar tablets 3 times a day. I also take the cinnamon mid-day rather than with the morning round.

BEDTIME:
I have an 8 oz. cup of Detox Tea by Yogi. You can read about it HERE

Apple Cider Vinegar can reduce your 'fasting number' by 20pts. So at bedtime, I drink 4 oz. warm water with a 1/2 tsp of raw honey and 2 Tbl. of Apple Cider Vinegar. I usually have 2 -3 crackers to prevent heartburn.

While this seems like a lot, I feel the natural course is far better than the chemical/ medical options. 

I won't go into details about Haylie Pomroy's system today. If you need a refresher, I invite you to check out THIS POST

There are 3 Phases. Her key thing is 'don't start on Monday'. I get that. With that in mind, Phase 1 runs Tuesday Wednesday. So here's my food list for yesterday and today:

PHASE 1

VEGGIES:

Bamboo shoots/ Bean Sprouts/ Green Beans/ Carrots/ Mushrooms/ Peas/ Pumpkin/ Sweet Potatoes/ Tomatoes

GRAINS/ STARCHES:

Barley, Brown Rice, Steel Cut Oats, Quinoa, Rice Milk, Sprouted-grain breads, Tapioca, Wild Rice

FRUITS:

Apples

Apricots

Asian Pears

Blueberries

Cantaloupe

Cherries

Honeydew

Lemons/ Lime

Mangos

Oranges

Peaches

Pears

Pineapple

Strawberries

Tangerines

Watermelon

MEAT

Lean meats - beef/ chicken/ pork/ turkey

Buffalo

Deli meats (nitrate free)

Fish - Haddock/ Hallibu/ Pullock/ Tuna

Sausage - chicken/ Turkey/ nitrate free

Turkey Breast

Turkey Bacon

BROTHS/ ETC.

Broths - chicken/ beef

Dried Herbs

Garlic - fresh

Ketchup - no sugar/ syrup added

Mustard

Decaf Tea/ Coffee

Salt & Pepper

Onion Salt/ Powder

Garlic Salt/ Powder

Cinnamon

SWEETENERS:

Stevia

Tomato Paste

Vanilla Extract

Peppermint Extract

Vinegar

NO FATS!

 If you look at the list, you'll see the first 2 days are more about 'cleanse'.

BASICS
Eat within 30 min of rising - this kicks in the Metabolism
Eat EVERY 3 Hours -
    Meal/ Snack/ Meal/Snack/ Meal
Veggies are FREE
Drink a minimum of 64 oz. EVERY DAY!

Tomorrow I'll share with you what the list encompasses for Thursday/ Friday.

Whatever you choose to eat/ not eat... remember....

Enjoy the Journey!

~Kelly

   

THE GLUCOSE STORY - How My Journey Began

Happy Tuesday, Everyone!

Tuesday's are normally about FlyLady. I'm updating my system and will be bringing that back in September. I hope you'll join me as we deep clean and find a routine ahead of the Holidays.

Since the cat is out of the bag with my family (Bob has known from the beginning), I thought it time to share my Pre-Diabetic condition with you.

I've always had low blood sugar. I was born anemic and took Tryvisol with Iron until I was twelve. When Bob and I were first married and I went to the gynecologist, they said everything was fine but that my sugar was a bit low. That if I felt fatigue to eat a candy bar. Great! I've never been one for candy bars. LOL

Speed ahead about five years ago. Bob and I had to have blood work done for Bob's insurance at work. I've always been a head-in-the-sand- type of person so when mine came back with a glucose of 135 I didn't think much about it. Bob's youngest brother and wife had been here for a visit. I had extra people to cook 'comfort' foods and desserts for four days! I chalked the number up to the extra carbs/ sugars I'd consumed and didn't think any more about it.

But here's the thing... the signs were there. I just did NOT KNOW they were signs of pre-diabetes.

Every day by 3 p.m. I wanted a nap.
I made frequent trips to the bathroom. Well of course I did! I was drinking like a fish.
I thought I was just trying to get my daily water in.

I didn't give these signs any thought.

Then I started getting tingling in the tips of my toes. Not cramps, just slight tingling. - early signs of diabetic nerve pain.

I also spent nights searching for cold spots in the bed because my feet were always hot. (I've always had COLD feet at night)

Maybe I should get a glucose meter and see what's up. Am I low? Am I high? (the numbers, not me!)

Speed ahead to January of this year.
January 15... Bob and I went to Applebees for their all-you-can-eat BBQ riblets/ shrimp/ tenders. Well, of course I ate the riblets! Three rounds! I also drank part of a pepsi (I normally drink unsweet tea but this was a special occasion) plus a few fries. I'm not a fan of french fries.

As we walked around, shopping, my toes got almost to the point of unable to walk. I thought the pain was due to wearing my new boots for the longest length of time since I'd bought them. So we went to the shoe store and got tennis shoes.

By the time we got home, my toes/ feet hurt so bad, I had Bob rub my feet down with a muscle rub, took Percogesic and searched for those cold spots between the sheets.
The next day while in West Plains. I went to Walgreens and bought a test meter.

Are you ready for this?

365

If you're not familiar... that is stroke level!

Here's the scarier part. My feet weren't hurting. I shudder to think what that number was the day before!

I don't do doctors. You may as well know that up front right now. I have strong beliefs I won't get in to here. Instead, I got on the American Diabetes Association website and EDUCATED myself. I changed my eating habits immediately.

I began paying closer attention to signs of when I thought the numbers might be up

I started taking the Vinegar tablets/ Cinnamon capsules/ Sugar blocker as well as the Detox & Vinegar Teas.

I added my DARK GREEN veggies to my diet and really watched the carbs.

I check my Fasting number every morning when I get up and plan my meals accordingly.

If something seems off throughout the day, I'll check again to make sure of where I am.

THIS is the monitor I use. 

To this day, that is my routine. 

I kind of got off-track when the girls were here and I'm paying for it now. I'm fighting to get my numbers back into what is 'normal' range for me... around 135-152. I'm still hovering between the 160's and 180's. 

Listen to your Body

Pay attention to changes

Educate yourself

and if you see a doctor... 

Make an appointment. Go armed with Questions. See that you get answers.

Tomorrow I walk you through how I'm shocking my system back to reality this week. 

Enjoy the Journey!

~Kelly

FAST METABOLISM - Working For the Weekend

So far so good for the first week. I'll give you the update on how I did during the Monday Weigh In.

I can say that during the week I am truly 'working for the weekend'. Phase 3 is my FAVORTIE phase. Probably because of all the seafood options.

PHASE 3

ANIMAL PROTEIN
Crab
Eggs - whole
Lobster
Rabbit
Scallops
Shrimp
Trout

VEGGIE PROTEIN
Almond Milk

HEALTHY FATS
Mayo
Nuts - Raw
Oils - Olive/ Sesame

FRUITS
Blueberries
Cherries
Lemon/ Lime
Peaches
Plums

One thing I am looking forward to is seeing what this plan does to my glucose numbers. Everything will be updated on Monday.

Here's a little music to get you dancing!

Enjoy the Journey
~Kelly

WEIGH IN 8-12-19

162/ 167/135

I'm Back!

Thank you so much for your patience while I took two months off to spend with my grandgirls. They are 11 and 7. We had an awesome time making art, weenie roasts in the back yard and hotel/ pool time. We took in a local play of Beauty & the Beast as well as caught showings of Aladdin and Secret Life of Pets 2. Lots of garden time, snuggling and just making memories.

After not touching my office during that time, the place is a disaster. I've been working on a serious dig out/ pitch/ organize session in prep for starting an Etsy shop as well as increasing my Stampin' Up! business. I have a financial plan I'll share with you at another time.

For now, this is my first day of my first full week back to work. My blog board is set up, the planners (which I've not looked at since mid-May) will be put in order and I'm writing again. You can read about that in today's post at my AngelaDrake blog.  

As you can see, I am up a pound from my last blog post. Not too bad considering all the nibbling and eating out we did while the girls were here. That also meant my sugar numbers went back up. Bad me! But I'm okay with that because I know what I need to do to get back in line.

BTW, Bob won the last weight challenge. While I could have used the money I was thrilled to see him losing weight. With his job, that is such a struggle and I was very proud of his accomplishment.

Now that I've had a chat with my sister, I can share with you that I am pre-diabetic. My goal is to not have to take medications/ insulin. I've gotten a lot of good information from the American Diabetes Association website I know this is controllable with proper diet and exercise. 'Proper Diet' means eliminating things from my food plan and adding extra of others. 

After the past two months I think I need to shock my system back into shape. For the next two weeks I'm going back on the Fast Metablolism menu. You can read about that in THIS POST.

  Wednesday is Food Day here on the blog so for the next couple of weeks I'll be sharing the rotation of foods from the Fast Metablolism plan. 

My step counter is out of commission for the next couple of days. I need a new battery. I did keep my steps up while the girls were here but I want to go back to tracking them in my planner again. 

Feels good to be back with y'all. Let's Do This!

We are on this together... let's Enjoy the Journey!

~Kelly

WEIGH IN 5-27-19 & Memorial Day Tribute

162/ 166/ 135

Blessed Memorial Day! 

Remember to take time to remember those who've given their life for our freedoms as well as family and friends who've left this earth but live on in our hearts.

WEIGH IN 5-20-19

162/167/135

As you can see, the scale hasn't budged. I'm stuck - again! But I have a plan.

My husband is always telling me 'it's good to have a plan'. Coming from someone who doesn't plan things, I find that quite funny. I'm the planner! lol I like to have a road map. And I've got one in hand going forward for the next two weeks. 

#1 - More veggies. I've gotten away from eating salads/ veggies. 

#2 - The Gazelle

On the second one, even though I'm getting in anywhere from 6,000 - 14,000 steps a day (yes, you read that last number correctly), I still need a bit of cardio. A good clip walk on the gazelle should help.  

I have two weeks to drop at least one, preferably two, pounds. Since neither Bob nor I won the last weight loss challenge, the pot is at $200 when he comes home on the 30th. Boy, could I use that. I put in my largest Stampin' Up! order in twenty years, a couple of weeks ago and I need the cash to pay off the card without dipping into my CO trip money any more than necessary. So, yeah.. gotta put forth a bit more effort.

How do you handle plateaus? I'd love tips right now!

Enjoy the Journey!

WEIGH IN 5-6-19

162/167/135

Okay.. so you were treated to a different type of blog post last week. LOL That Weekend Travel post was to go under my An Ozarks Journal blog. Geez. I usually catch those burps but in trying to get posts up so that Bob and I could spend our last couple of days together, that one went by me. Now I know why the post did NOT show up on the journal blog. 

Okay.. so a couple of things to cover today. I sincerely hope you'll understand what I'm about to say.

First off, I HAVE to do better about my weight loss. My glucose numbers are reflecting the fact I've put five pounds back on. I'll admit. When Bob is home, I don't do my salads here at home every day. I don't eat the amount of vegies I should.. because Bob's intake is limited to two things:

canned peas (ewww)

french style green beans with cheese sauce (I like these actually LOL)

But I can only eat so many green beans. When I make him peas I will eat them if I can mix them with mashed potatoes. Otherwise, I will make frozen peas.

As you'll see below, if you don't know already, I am a Stampin' UP! demonstrator. I placed a reasonable order last week from Clearance to build up my future Etsy shop plus put in a big order (the largest I've EVER placed) on our pre-order in preparation for the 2019-2020 catalog releasing June 4th. I have to pay for that so I'm turning in all of my change. 

But here's the thing.. 

1) I found a hidden $100 bill yesterday from a previous weight challenge won

2) Last weigh in neither of us one... making this new round worth $200!!! 

Winning this current challenge would pay for half my order. That would be really sweet. I have enough change stashed in the office to cover the rest... I hoard my change and in this case, that's a good thing LOL

So I REALLY need to buckle down and get back to eating properly.  

Stress also raises glucose numbers and I've been stressed a lot trying to get time in the garden between rain drops, keep up with blogs (which I'm only succeeding on 2 at the moment), get the house straightened up before the girls' arrival and stay on top of office stuff in general. Did I mention writing Book 2 in the series? LOL

So yeah.. something has to give!

Last week was a perfect example of how crazy things are here... and with the girls' arrival on June 1 the time allotments will only get tighter. I HAVE to cut some things. 

June 1 - the girls arrive

June 4 - Stampin' UP! new catalog release

June 20thish - Launch Etsy shop

July 1 - Book 2 in my series releases

Mid-August - the girls go back home

August 25 - Contest entries due

September 4 - Stampin' UP! Holiday catalog launches

October 1 - Book 3 in series releases

While this blog began as a weight loss journey, I'm not getting comments/ feedback.. lots of voyeurism. I'm okay with that as long as I know what I'm sharing is helping someone to at least feel they are not alone on this journey.

So here's the deal.. 

Based on the afore mentioned schedule, I have to step back from the blogs that are not part of my income flow at the moment.  My summer is dedicated to book writing, new product launch, prepping for the Etsy grand opening and most of all - TIME WITH MY GIRLS! We will be doing all kinds of fun stuff. Abby's my crafter and Adrian is my garden buddy. Plus there will be field trips and library days, time at the creek... well, you get the idea.

So until September 1, this blog will be my Monday Weigh In. I KNOW I can't plan anything else. 

In the mean time, I hope to get some other posts organized so I can get us through the rest of the year without fail. 

By the end of this year I will know whether or not this blog continues into 2020....

... and a big part of that decision will come from you.

If you want this blog to continue, if you get anything from my posts I NEED to hear from you.

For now... I'm stepping back and Enjoying the Journey