WEIGH IN 7-20-20

165/173/135

Good morning!

I don't know about the rest of you but I'm already over summer... well, the heat anyway. We've had a few days of a dry, hot wind which wasn't bad. I really don't care for the humidity. With the dry heat, I can work outside in spurts as long as there is that breeze. Even a hot breeze is better than none. But the humidity just knocks me out. I get maybe an hour in the early  morning (if I'm llucky) then a couple hours near almost dark in the evening. 

On the upside, staying in is letting me accomplish stuff in the house. 

I've been building up my creative YouTube channel and following. I'm celebrating over 200 subscribers this week. My goal is to  be at 500 by my birthday and 1000 by the end of the year. If you are a creative person or know someone who is, I hope you'll join me. You will find me at KellysCreativeDreams I have a giveaway this week. You have until Friday to enter.

I've started a deep clean on the pantry downstairs. I've been buying a few extra items every week to get us stocked up. We were looking pretty good down there but things were beginning to get jumbled and I wasn't sure of what we had or if we were using oldest stuff first. 

My main goal this week is to get all of my Stampin' Up! sets broken down and inventoried. I'm changing the way I store things a bit. Bob would really like to get to the dining room table when he gets home.  I get it. Just hope he'll still want to have coffee on the deck in the morning even though the table would be available. 

While I'm up a pound this week, I'm not concerned. I treated myself to seafood twice over the weekend. Friday I went to Poplar Bluff. CHIN's Chinese Buffet has been open a couple of weeks. I gave that to myself as a treat for accomplishing a major task here in the house.  Then Saturday while I was in West Plains, I saw a sign that had my attention - Crab Legs after 4 p.m.  Umm Yes please!

The portion was huge! 5 complete leg sections plus 2 sides for $30. That's almost #2 of crab legs!  I didn't have my scissors but I did okay. Joe's Fish Shack offeers crab legs the 1st and 3rd Saturday each month. They also offer catfish filets, walleye, clam strips, shrimp and a wide variety of sides. I recommend stopping in at the THE FISH SHACK

I'm not out and about so much this week. Lots to accomplish here. I'm cleaning out the freezer this morning, pitching old stuff and getting an idea of what leftovers I have that I could be eating. We will see what next Monday brings.

Be sure to pop back by tomorrow for FlyLady. While the main room on the schedule should be the office, I'm going to pair that up with the dining room table to finish the Stampin' Up! project. 

How do you feel about summer? Are you over it? Do you love the hot temps? How do you stay cool?

Let me hear from you!

Enjoy the Journey!

~Kelly

WEIGH IN 7-13-20

165/172/135

Well, I managed to gain while Bob was home. Went back up to 175. I've lost three pounds since he left on Friday. 

I've gone back to lean meats (I've only eaten beef once) and lots of veggies.

As a result my sugar (which had gotten dangerously high) was also down. I knew getting the weight in check would make that number better as well - mostly because of what I eat when I'm not cooking for Bob.

I'm pretty sure I've said before, Bob does not like vegetables. He will eat canned peas (ewww!), green beens and french style green beans with cheese sauce. 

Me, I eat just about any vegetable except parsnips/ rutebega. There are a couple of others. I only eat brussel sprouts the way my daughter fixes them. I've tried fixing them her way and they just don't turn out the same.

I'm happy with peppers/ onions/ broccoli/ rice cauliflower and the other veggies Bob will eat, though I prefer my green peas fresh or frozen. 

With him gone, I'm back in the office full-time. My wrist is telling me about it this  morning as I've written 9 blog posts. Tomorrow I'll see if I can knock out the rest for the week.

For now, a recliner and my kindle call my name. I have a book review due on Wednesday. 

Post will become more regular as I've mapped out the entire quarter. Cross your fingers nothing jumps in front of my productive train!

Whatever you're up to, remember to...

Enjoy the Journey!

WEIGH IN 6-1-20

165/171/135

Bob has been gone two weeks (this Wednesday). When we did our weigh in, I was at 175. So technically, I am down four pounds! yowsers

I know a lot has to do with eating more vegetables. I get away from my stir-fry meals when he is home. He does not eat vegies unless it's green beans, canned peas or french style green beans with cheese sauce.  However, he does like chinese mixed vegetables. With that in mind, I'm going to include stir-fry as a dinner at least once a week when he is home.

Bob's challenge is portion control. He just has no concept, regardless as many times as I try to show him. 

My plan for this week is to get a handle on what we have in the two freezers and plan meals for when Bob comes home. I've decided instead of fixing meals and we filling our plates, I'm going to prepare meals according to  our plates. Maybe that will help Bob. We'll see.

Quick recap on last week. I've discovered I was one of thousands in MO that got that 'denied unemployment letter' Apparently, there was an issue in Unemployment database. That said, I still don't now all the details. I spent three hours on hold each of the four work-days last week without getting through. In fact, I would be kicked off exactly at the 3-hour mark.

I'm getting work out of the way then I'll focus on security while still trying to get through to them. 

Do you use LIfelock or something similar? If so, I'd love to hear your opinion/ recommendation.

How are you doing through this whole mess?

Whatever crosses your path, find something positive and as always...

Enjoy the Journey

~Kelly

WEIGH IN - 5-4-20

165/171/135

Good morning, Everyone!

While the office isn't anywhere near done (I'll explain in a moment), I am back to work this week.

I'm not going full-force this week as things are still a bit of a jumble here. 

Bob came home on Thursday and we just sort of chilled. Then his best friend since grade school arrived on Friday. We're not sure how long he is staying but that's okay. Kevin helped us move in almost 13 years ago and this is the first time he's been back. So most of my time has been spent cooking & doing dishes.. (okay, and doing a lot of nothing LOL)

Speaking of eating, remember Bob didn't think he'd lose any weight - in fact he thought he'd gain.

We each lost two pounds so we're splitting the $100 LOL $50 is better than nothing, right?

I have a few photos on my phone for Recipe Wednesday blogposts. Not promising they'll get pulled for this week, but next week for sure. I need to try and focus on putting the office back together. For the time being we've been eating at the table either in the gazebo or the table on the front deck. Should the inclement weather continue, we will need the dining room table. That's my first focus for today.

Bob is awake and ready for coffee.

I'll try to get this on track this week but don't expect miracles as I work really hard to move stuff back into the office.

Be safe as you venture out.

Enjoy the Journey!

WEIGH IN 4-20-20

169-171-135

After two days of stomach issues I left coffee off my morning routine for a couple of days. Tasted good on Saturday but I still only drank a half of a cup.

Is eliminating the coffee part of the reason for my loss? Who knows. I do know I'm going to try and avoid coffee through the week whenever possible and just enjoy the 'treat' on the weekends. I'm not saying that is going to happen.. jsut that I'm going to try. :-)

I ventured out on Friday to pay some bills and pick up a few things. While I was out I thought I'd swing by my favorite coffee hang-out to see if they were doing take-out orders. To my huge disappointment, I found them CLOSED... not just for the shut-down but 'number disconnected, boxes full of stuff around the room' closed! Oh no!!!

I know this shut-down is affecting a lot of small businesses. I never thought Higher Grounds in West Plains would be one of them. 

Felicia has always had a good flow through there. She has carried my books in her cafe. My first book, Somewhere Down the Line, was written in her establishment when it was Heroe's Coffee. I'd hoped to offer her hard copies of that book later this summer when I get my rights back. 

I know Felicia works with the Boys & Girls Club so when this whole #SIP is over with, I can track her down and find out what's what. 

Now, I've lied to Fox News.

A few weeks ago they posted on twitter what did we want to do when this whol thing was lifted. I posted I wanted to spend an entire day in my favorite coffee house and work on my book. 

Hmmmm Sorry FoxNews... guess you can add me to the rest of the #FakeNews

I hope you are all safe and getting through this with a level head. 

Enjoy the Journey - this part can't last forever.

WEIGH IN 4-13-20

135/173/165

I've had an interesting week. Bob left last Tuesday and got zapped by the increased heat on Tuesday and Wesnesday. Wednesday we hit 97*! Today, we will only reach the lower 40s and the wind chill in the 30s.

My sugar number was the best it's been in several weeks. I hope I can keep that going in the right position.

While I don' t feel as if I'm moving more than I normally do, I did average 7100 steps a day last week. Wednesday with the gorgeous weather, I did hang several loads of laundry on the line. That task alone usually racks me close to 10k steps for the day. 

With only a couple weeks left to get stuff done around here before Bob gets home, I'm motivated to really pick up the pace in the next few days. 

One thing I'm doing this week is getting back into stretches. I don't think my body will benefit from jumping right into exercise until I loosen muscles up a bit. 

What do you do to stretch out?

I've always enjoyed my own form of pilates. Simple stretches. I'm not a yoga person. I've tried at various stages of my life and my body just doesn't want to cooperate. 

Here's a video to get you moving:

At this point, I have a problem with bending the knees. but I do loosen my knees (don't lock them!) and do the side bends. 

I've always been a strong believer in the saying:

A BODY IN MOTION - STAYS IN MOTION

Whatever you choose to do, remember....

Enjoy the Journey!

~Kelly

WEIGH IN 4-6-20

165/174/135

Well, the number is not pretty. But I have a plan in mind. With weather improving, I should be in the yard more. I'm also inspired by the dance videos I've been seeing on YouTube. Not sure why they came up in my suggestions to watch unless they were a result of the video I shared last week. 

Dancing I can do.  I'll never win a competition but I can move.

I thought I'd share one of them with you today.

In this time of quarantine, no gyms open, it's more important than every to KEEP MOVING - and most of all...

Enjoy the Journey!

WEIGH IN 3-30

156/173/135

I have to say that once Bob comes home, most thoughts of bloggling leave my head. 

Bob used to sleep til 8 or 8:30, giving me time to get a few office things done before hand.

Now, he's up pretty much the same time as I am. I barely have time to boot up the computer and say good morning to my sister on-line. 

From there Bob and I spend about 2-3 hours at the dining room table enjoying coffee, chatting, breakfast then a 2 out of 3 battle hands of Deal before parting ways to our respective things to do.

about 12:30 or 1 we meet back at the dining room table for lunch and another 2 out of 3. 

Repeat then back for dinner when we call our duties 'done' for the day, even if they aren't.

Here's the thing. I LOVE spending time with my husband. We are best friends. So this whole 'sheltering in place' really doesn't affect us... except that usually when Bob is home, he has cabin fever from being on the boat for 21 days so his time at home is all about GO GO GO. 

That is why I'm glad I don't have a job that requires me to have specific things done at a certain time other than things I am able to schedule. Being a writer and a creater so works for me. 

I try to be regular on the blogs but I don't get paid for any of them. When Bob is gone I hit them hard. When he's home, I do what I can. 

Time with our loved ones is the most important part of our life. We never know how long they are here for.

The last thing I want to remember is that I spent all of my time on this computer and not with the love of my life - my best friend. 

While you're sheltering in place, UNPLUG... play a game with your family, do silly stuff, create memories, but most important...

Enjoy the Journey!

WEIGH IN 3-9

165/171/135

I do love that number! While I still have a long way to go, I'm getting closer to where I started last fall. 

Bob is giving me a run for my  money... literally. Because he isn't hungry when he first gets up at night, he's been taking a protein shake up to the wheel house with him to drink before he has his coffee. He has his eye on that $100.  Well, so do I. :-)

This week will be a challenge but I'm going to try and stay on course.

My sister is coming up on Wednesday. We're going to spend four full days crafting and eating. LOL 

I have a menu plan and we're only eating out one day. The rest of the time we're all about crafting. I'm doing simple meals we can pick at and her only 'sweet' request is a sour cream raisin pie. something we both dearly love but seldom eat. I'm going to try making a partial recipe and do individual pies. I have the cutest little ceramic pie pans just perfect for this. 

I worked yesterday to get posts set up for the week so I wouldn't drop a day this week. I don't want to do anything but spend time with my sister and craft.  But if I do miss a day, know time with her is more important but that I will be back. 

Whatever you are doing...

Enjooy the Journey!

WEIGH IN 3-2-20

165/172/135

I have to say, losing that pound was not a fun journey. A bit of background

Image courtesy of Pixabay

To an extent I am lactose intolerant, but they come in flare-ups. 

When I was a teenager we received state commodoties. We were given #5 blocks of American cheese, large boxes of powdered milk among other things. I loved milk and went through a period about then when I drank A LOT.. sometimes consuming almost a gallon a day myself. As a result, I wound up in the hospital with what they termed a 'milk induced ulcer'. This was in the late 1970s. From that point on I had to regulate how much milk I drank. I limited myself to milk with my cereal and one carton at school. Slowly, the symptoms subsided.

Over the years, I'd have flare-ups. These came primarily with attempting to eat yogurt, when the yogurt/ health food craze began in the late 80s and early 90s. 

Image courtesy of Pixabay

Milkshakes were something I rarely drank.  Then came my fluffy coffee.

I did fine for a very long time - years before flare-ups returned. The most recents began about three years ago. I recognized the symptoms but credited them to lactose intolerance. 

Here's the difference. Lactose intolerance doesn't cause burning of the stomach (as far as I've been able to find). That's the ulcer.

I haven't had issues in over a year, after giving up dairy for the most part.

Then this week I got hit in a big way. My stomach burned and became hard as a rock. Twice I went to bed with my herbal heat pack and a body pillow, begging the cat not to lay on top of me. What did I find?  

That if I left the dairy alone, I'm fine. yesterday was a mild case - because I'd eaten spinach quiche. I hate throwing out food and I thought I'd eat the piece I'd thawed out. I thought with the milk being cooked, I'd be okay. Not such a good idea.

These attacks really limit my productivity. I can't afford to have down time. I'm not stressed about what I need to get done (well, maybe with the book deadline hanging over my head). I can handle everything else. I take them one bite at a time. 

Yesterday I began a no-dairy policy. I'm eating stirfry meals as well as any protein that doesn't moo, cluck or oink. 

Thankfully, I can still have my fluffy. The mix is made with non-dairy creamer. I just can't add any Butter Pecan Boost, French Vanilla Creamer or Whipped topping. I'm okay with that as long as I'm able to get stuff done.

Sorry, I missed Air Fryer Friday last week. I had pictures on my phone. I was just focused on getting back into routine after Bob having left on Tuesday that I just spaced them until it was later in the day. If you'll check the panel to the right you'll see I'm going to be alternating weeks with some posts. Air Fryer Friday will alternate with somethng else.  This gives me time to build up a rotation of the air fryer recipes.

Is there anything you love that you've had to eliminate from your diet? Share your story.  Let's 

Enjoy the Journey -

together!

WEIGH IN 2-24-2020

162/ 173/135

Good morning, everyone!

I'm attributing my gain to the low country boil I made for supper on Saturday (I write this post on Sundays). Was tasty and not something I do very often but this was our nod to Mardi Gras.

I got the idea when our local brew pub, Wages Brewing Co, had a crawfish boil on their calendar. Bob doesn't like crawfish so I decided to do my own version here at home. Tasted awesome but the scales showed the error of my ways. LOL That said, everyone needs to treat themselves now and then and this was my last hurrah before Bob goes back on the boat tomorrow. 

While we were in West Plains last week for eye appointments Bob spotted the beet concentrates at Walmart. He had seen the commercials and decided to give it a try.

The stuff tastes nasty! I don't care what you mix it with. One youtuber describes the flavor akin to pulling a beet right out of the ground. 

After further reading this morning I've also discovered (much to my pleasure) that as a diabetic this is not something I need to add to my regimen. I can't speak for other brands but this one in particular containes MALTODEXTRIN. The maltodextrin gives you a sweet aftertaste. However, that biproduct can also cause spikes in bloood sugar. yay! Finally, something that should be good for you, I need to avoid. 

I'll be doing further research to determine if this is a factor with natural beets. I love them, especially pickled. so will continue to research and keep you posted.

In the mean time, tell me if you've tried this and your opinon of the product.

Enjoy the Journey!

~Kelly

WEIGH IN 2-17-2020

162/ 171/135

In spite of spending three days in the city and eating copius amounts of crab legs, I managed to drop 2 pounds!

I will admit to being a pig when it comes to crab legs. I LOVE them. Crab legs are probably  my #1 go to food... lobster and shrimp follow closs in line. 

Whenever we take the opportunity to go to the city, we try to arrange to be overnight on a Thursday so we can go to Hemmingways.

Hemmingways Blue Water Cafe is on the 4th floor of Bass Pro in Springfield, MO. They have a really good buffet dinner during the week, lunch/ dinner on the weekends and a great  menu to order from as well. My night is Thursdays. For about $15 above the price of the buffet (so about $38) you get a bottomless bucket of crab legs. If you have a really good waitress, she'll put a refill in order about the time you're pulling the last leg rack from your bucket and the fresh legs arrive in quick minutes. The shells are not soft. They crack easily and removing full lengths of meat from the shell is an easy task... especially if you go prepared as I do. 

Those crab crackers they provide are useless, in my opinion. I take a cloth pencil case that holds a pair of kitchen sheers (that have claw crackers in the handle) and a seafood fork (4-pack @ $Tree)

We won't discuss how many I ate, but let's just say I didn't eat anything off the regular buffet. Serious? I can eat that stuff any time but crab legs only come around on Thursdays!

My question for this week... 

When it comes to food, what is your guilty pleasure?

Enjoy the Journey

~Kelly

WEIGN IN 2-10-20

162/ 173/ 135

No change from last week. I'm surprised considering we ate out on Friday. We found a great Italian place in Poplar Bluff. Think I can remember the name? LOL I'll get back to you on that. We each had an appetizer plus our meal and we both brought home half of our entrees. We had have of our entrees last night for supper, along with leftover garlic rolls. Bob said he'll have his for lunch today. I put mine in the freezer for a meal while he's gone. We spent right at $60 and will have eaten three meals each for that, plus the lovely evening out.  

This week will be crazy. We're going to celebrate Valentine's Day. Hopefully, that will be our only big meal out. Here's hoping. 

Oh, Bob won the weight challenge. As of weigh-in I was down two pounds but he was down four!

I know that eating out, regardless of where, always affects the scale reading so I'm striving for us to do that less, and strictly on a cash basis.

He's home three weeks. We'll do one 'nice' dinner, one Pizza Hut lunch buffet and one general meal such as Chinese buffet, KFC, something along those lines. We'll spend less and eat at home more. 

I've also bee on a new challenge with Moms and Money on YouTube.  For the month of January Jia challenged us to spend only $100 per person per month on our groceries. I've modified that a bit in that I do not include laundry/ paper products. I get all of my laundry supplies at Menards when they have the 11% rebate and my paper products at $ Genersal when I have a $5 off $25 coupon about every other Saturday. I use one per month. 

Jia has a lot of great tips and advice. She also offers budgeting and money management courses through Teachable. 

While I've always been good at managing our finances, learning little tips like realizing you don't need to spend as much at the grocery store as you think you do are nice surprises. We don't know everything. LOL

What is your biggest challenge when it comes to finances? Do you live paycheck to paycheck? Do you find yourself wondering where that paycheck went? Do you have a savings plan?  Please let me know in the comments. Let's give each other a lift.

Enjoy the Journey!

WEIGH IN 2-3-20

162/173/135

Good  morning!

Did the ground hog see his shadow where you live? Sadly, while Puxataney Phil predicted an early spring for the east coast, I'm pretty sure our ground hog saw his. We had a gorgeous day, reaching 75*. I could live on that weather 363 days of the year. I need snow for Christmas Eve/ Day. Some periodic rain for the garden would also be nice.

Next on the list was the big game in Miami between the SanFranciso 49s and the Kansas City Chiefs. 31-20 KC.  I've never been anything but a Bronco fan but I gotta say that young Mahomes is growing on me. He reminds me a lot of John Elway. He motivates his team and has one hell of an arm. The fact that they won their first Super Bowl in 50 years - on the 100th anniversary of the NFL is just cool. Coach Reid has worked hard for that win yesterday... his first SuperBowl of his long career. His team admire him.

Congratulations to Coach Reid and the entire Kansas City Chiefs franchise.

That half-time show was something else! While admire the talents of both Shakira and Jennifer Lopez, as well as the Latin theme of the show (was in Miami after all), I really don't think the performance was appropriate for a day that often encompasses young men and women viewrs. Way too suggestive in both costume and  movement. While I'm not a prude, I just kept thinking, if JLo were an everyday wife/ mother, would she want her children watching the show?

That said, I remember when I could shimmy like Shakira. A friend of mine owned a bar where I played pool. If he got backed up on drinks, he would shove me quarters for the jukebox so that I could play WipeOut and dance, distracting the customers for a bit while he got caught up.
I don't shimmy any more... I should. I'd love to get back to that point.

As you can see, the weight is up. I'm contributing the number to a few factors.
1) I had a horrible choking incident on Saturday resulting in me not taking my supplements, including my sugar blockers. I didn't take them yesterday either.
2) BBQ sauce that was not my low-carb/ low-sugar. I'll be sharing the recipe with you on Wednesday 2-12 (truly) I'm scheduling the post this morning. I had used my low carb/ low sugar but by the time all was said and done, there wasn't any sauce on the wings. You'll understand more when that post goes live.
3) Chocolate/ Caramel Brownie in a Cup.
By the end of the game I'd eaten a portion of almost every protein I'd prepared for the day. I craved chocolate... a chocolate caramel brownie. Well, none to be had in the house was probably a good thing. But there was Cake in A Cup. I had one with about a tablespoon of milk chocolate frosting and a glass of milk... at bedtime when I should have been eating more protein.

Some days you just have to give in to the cravings!

On the up side, I didn't have the Peach Belini made with Clear American Peach soda water I had planned on. The peach schnapps was not going to be a good idea.

If you're not a fan of sparkling waters, I encourge you to give these a try. Unlike most brands where you have an 'artificial' flavoring, Clear American waters taste like the real deal. You can taste actual JUICE in these waters. A couple other people have tried them on my recommendation and love them.

So on to another week. I'm back in sync with my inner 1950s housewife this week as well as back to a full work week - just in time for Bob to come home on Wednesday. Thus the reason I'm getting all the posts scheduled this morning.

How was your first month of 2020? Are you still on track? Today begins a new week and a new month. We've got this!

Enjoy the Journey!
~Kelly 

WEIGH IN 1-27-20

162/172/135

Quick post this morning

Another pound down!  Now if I can just drop 1 more before Bob and I weigh in on the 13th :-) I'd rather have 2 but you know.. I'll take the 1.

My sugar numbers are reflecting the weight loss. I know if the weight went down so would the glucose. 

But here's something odd. Carbs don't seem to be affecting my morning number. doesn't matter if I have cinnaon raisin toast or a bowl of coco wheats, my numbers will be lower in the morning. I am trying to make sure I eat late so that the carbs continue to burn through the night.

Today is all about my favorite Chinese buffet and I'm really craving a cheese burger.

Speaking of, I tried the no meat burgers from Burger King. They're pretty good but I'm going to research what they are acutally made of before I eat another one. I'll try to remember to post those results on Wednesday.

How are you doing on your path? comment below and let us 

Enjoy the Journey... together!

~Kelly

WEIGH IN 1-20-20

162/172/135

Happy New Year, everyone!

Time to start another year of resolutions.  I have to say I don't have any resolutions. I have GOALS.

1- Open my etsy shop (coming February 1)

2 - Be serious about my Sinking Funds.. I have 3 specific ones I'll be talking about later

3 - Keeping my glucose # in check. 

4 - Publish 3 books this year - ON TIME!

The reason I've not been around for the past three months is because I've been seriously working on #1. I've wanted to open an Etsy shop for over a year. I wavered back and forth between needing to make some of this craft stuff taking up real estate to start earning its keep and wondering whether or not I needed one more thing on my plate.  I decided the 1st avenue might be a good course to take. Get some stuff out of my crafting space and maybe make a little money. I'm not out to make a killing but if I can pick up a little extra cash towards #2 then that's a bonus.

The sinking funds is a big bullet point. I want Bob to retire in 4 years or less (Less is my goal) But there are some things we need before then. A new walk in tub - with jets is one. By then our bubble tub will be almost 20 years old. I want one that we can get in, sit in and be able to get out of in our dottering old age.  Another thing we need is a new sofa, with recliners. I have one spotted at FFO and the price isn't bad. I'm just hoping by the time we're ready to purchase, this whole micro fiber thing will be history and we can go back to real fabric. When we moved the original hide a bed into my office, we bought knew recliners for the living room. After almost 5 years, we are not happy with them. One thing that bothers us is that when you raise the foot rest.. at a certain point the back reclines as well. Bob wanted this recliner and he asks for very little. I let him have the win. I didn't want power recliners to begin with. Live and Learn.  Finally, there is the new truck I'm going to need. At the three-year mark I'll be looking for a 2019. I do know I do NOT want a car payment.. especially after he retires. The house will be paid off and my truck will be pushing past the 300,000 mile mark. Ugh! I've been blessed that it hasn't needed any serious work. Snowball is a good truck but at some point, she'll need a rest.

My glucose numbers went up over the winter. Mainly, I think, because I didn't focus on them all last summer and didn't focus on them the way I should have. Since I've gotten back on track, the number is slowly getting back to where is comfortable for me... my normal without drugs. I've had to give up a lot of things but I'd rather sacrifice some foods rather than my over-all health

Three books. Book 2 of my Ozarks series comes out in late May. Book 3 will release in late September. My other book will release mid-summer after I gain rights back. My contract for Somewhere Down the Line comes up in May. That has been a long 8-year lesson I won't repeat. 

One I didn't mention is my hope to work with an editor at Five Star for my Western Trilogy. The great western author, (late) Dusty Richards introduced me to Tiffany Schoefiled after he'd done a critique of the first chapter of book 1 in the series. I had the opportunity to sit with Tiffany last october and she's ready to see what I have. That book wouldn't release until 2021 but I have enough other things to keep me busy until then. 

Okay..

that's my 2020 forecast. What's yours? Let's have some conversation.

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!

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

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