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 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 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 2-3-20

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 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 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!

WEIGH IN 4-15-19

NOTE::: I've added the scale icon ahead of time. If there isn't a further post, please come back later. With the girls here, I'm trying to prep ahead as much as possible so I'm on here less during their visit. Thank you!  Enjoy the Journey

162?166 /135

YIKES! 4 pounds? Where did they come from? I have no clue. I haven't changed the way I have been doing things. I'm averaging 8,000-10,000 steps a day. 

I woke up this morning with killer sinus'. I've taken meds and hope my day improves. Crawling back into bed seemed a better thought but with Bob home, I'm limited to work hours and there is so much I need to accomplish.. and it's Monday. 

Bob came home on Saturday. So far we haven't started the go go go. I think we get to hold off a few days. I hope so. I'm still trying to get stuff caught up and work ahead before the girls get here. 

Once the house is back in order, I want to start my FlyLady posts again. I've broken each of the room posts into task check-lists that I want to share.

I'm off to see what I can accomplish before Bob wakes up. From 8-10ish sitting with him is all I get done. 

WEIGH IN 3-4-19

165/162/135

yep.. up a couple pounds. Not sure why other than Bob is home and I'm eating a bit differently. Not as much as I would have in the past. Not as much fish as in past weeks. Bob is a red meat guy. I had also run low on salad makings until about Wednesday or Thursday. I've restocked lettuce and tomatoes as well as a cucumber. 

Funny, when I was younger, my (step) mom is the one who got me into eating salads. One thing I could not cave in and eat was cucumber slices and tomatoes in vinegar and oil. Well, guess what I've added to my side option?  Mom is smiling down on me. My next try will be a bean salad... maybe I can get brave this summer for that one.

This week is going to be crazy. We get our taxes done this week, then I'm meeting up with my middle sister for a couple days at a hotel to talk nothing but mixed media and junk journals without interruption. She's getting into junk journals and is needing a bit of tool/ ephemera direction. I look forward to seeing her first completed project. 

Eating out won't be a problem. I know that one day we're probably going to be Golden Corral so I have the salad bar as well as chicken and fish options. They've just reopened our favorite location after a remodel so I'm looking forward to seeing that one. Friday - with or without her is Mikados for crab legs and fish.

I won't be getting the walking in that I do here at home. I hit over 12,000 steps two different days last week just working in the studio! I didn't rack up that many steps shopping LOL

So there's my week. My plan is to just stay on task as much as possible. I'll have to pack snacks for the every three hours nibbles. 

Whatever you have planned for the week, remember to ...

Enjoy the Journey!

WEIGH IN 6-4-18

175/167/135

I'm up a pound. On the positive side... for me anyway... Bob is also up a pound, while I'm down a pound from our challenge weigh-in. That puts me $100 to the good :-D

Overall, the month of May wasn't bad. I won the challenge, had two days that I topped the 10k mark in steps and I THINK I have the internet back up and running.

Last week, I intended to be on here and have things rolling. Memorial Day weekend, my internet got really slow and wouldn't open third party applications - like email, pinterest, youtube.. yeah. I wasn't happy. 

So here I sit on Sunday night determined this post will be live in the morning. I also have several food shots on my memory card for Recipe Wednesday posts with more in mind. This week, I'm not going to share a recipe but rather what I've started doing that will help insure Recipe Wednesday actually happens. ;-) So stay tuned for that.

Bob is home. This week is Laundry Room/ Kitchen for Flylady. Hopefully, I can get the under the sink project done. Maybe take stock of the dry goods cabinet. We'll see. 

Whatever I do, I know I'll enjoy the journey because Bob is home.

What's on your plan this week?  Enjoy your journey!

WEIGH IN - 4-30-18

175/ 168/135

While I'm showing a gain of two pounds since my last post, I'm actually down one. I was at 169 last week. I'm laying blame on the big dinner the night before.

My whole work life gets turned around when Bob is home. I find myself staying up later while still trying to getting up at the same time and be able to function. I get a couple hours worth of work in before he gets up around 8 then we're at the dining room table until around 10 drinking coffee, eating breakfast and talking. Sometimes we throw in a game or two of cards before dividing and conquering. By the, I'm out of the flow and it's really hard to accomplish much. 

Which brings me to the question: Are you a morning person or a night owl?

Bob is a night owl. Even with getting up at the early hour of 8 a.m., he still doesn't come to bed before midnight most nights - though I suspect he doses in his recliner.

Me, I'm happiest stretched out by 7:30 but can hang out til 9. I don't sleep right away. That's just my place to relax, watch tv shows I enjoy or read. By the time I'm done for the day my legs/ knees/ ankles need the cool sheets and I am ready for the fan to stir a breeze across me and circulate the air. My light is usually out by 10 or 10:30. 

With Bob home I still haven't gotten on the gazelle. Every minute I can spare I am working on office stuff and trying to build up my Stampin' UP! business as I close in on my second anniversary with the company.  I am logging between 8-10 thousand steps on my ped every day and garden work will begin in earnest this week, giving me something else to squeeze into  my day. 

With that said, I am Thankful to be able to spend my days doing the things I love and sharing them with the most important person in my life. How many people can be so blessed?

However you spend your time, 

Enjoy the Journey!

WEIGH IN 4-2-18

179 -168-135

Back up the hill I go. This roller coaster wouldn't be so bad if I understood what caused it. My eating habits haven't changed plus I did quite a bit of walking last week. I don't know how many steps because I've not been wearing my step counter. 

Steppy gets in the way on my wrist. I can't type with her on so I need to see if she'll fit around my ankle. I take her off to work then fail to put her back on when I'm up and moving around. Maybe I'll try that this week and let you know how it goes.

Sadly, this week I do have lots of time on the computer. First of the month stuff is always time consuming and I'm still trying to work ahead before Bob comes home. He's thinking sometime after the 9th. 

I did not get on the gazelle last week but I did get Youtube hooked up to the tv in the living room so I can get to the work out video without having to watch it on the laptop screen - aside from trying to make room on the entertainment center for the laptop to begin with.

Whatever your plans for this week, Enjoy the Journey

WEIGH IN 3-19-18

179/168/135

And the roller coaster continues. 

The only thing I did different this week was to enjoy a couple of donuts and an apple fritter. I've had a taste for donuts for several weeks thanks to one of the food channels. They toured donut shops across the country.. and every stop was more drool-worthy than the previous. So Thursday night, while grocer shopping I picked up some apple fritters and caramel iced cinnabuns from the bakery. I have eaten two of the cinnabuns and one of the fritters. The rest, I put in the freezer to enjoy later. 

I'm power-working this week. The time is getting closer for Bob to be coming home and I will be on here less. I have lots of protein options and am trying to eat more vegetables - something I do less of when I'm here alone. I love salads but eating them most of the time just is not enjoyable with my dentures. 

Don't get me wrong - I love my dentures. They give me the smile I never had. My challenge is that I have shallow bone lines. So shallow that I'm not a candidate for implants - not that I'm sure I'd want them. I've tried liners such as SeaBond without success. If I'm not going to eat and just want my dentures in, they work fine. But if I can't eat them, what's the point. So I live with the ooze. Some days the adhesive works better than others. I just never know until I test them if I'm going to have a good day.. or would just rather take them out and not deal with them.

For now they are in and there are Buffalo BBQ wings in my sights. 

Whatever you have on your agenda this week, just remember to...

Enjoy the Journey!

WEIGH IN - 2-5-18

179/168/135

I'm up 7 pounds from last week but I totally get why so I'm not kicking myself and getting all bummed. Friday, I could not seem to get enough to drink. Didn't matter whether I drank water, cran-grape juice, mini coke.. nothing seemed to do it. I've also had a couple of comfort food meals this week - like the chicken fried steak, mashed taters and milk gravy - all made from scratch - on Saturday. 

Sometimes we just need those comfort foods... and they're OKAY ... as long as we remember they are to be enjoyed GUILT - FREE then move on. Guilt will pack on the pounds faster than anything. 

Go forth into the week and live your food life guilt free... 

Enjoy the journey!

WEIGH IN 10-2-17

185/168/135

And the see-saw continues. I'm pretty sure that extra pound came as a result of the delishes Mexican Enchiladas Supramas platter at Los Amigos on Saturday... a platter that was chased with a large Pepsi. After walking the Pioneer Days festival I was in the  mood for a Pepsi. One thing that I have in my favor is that most of the time I don't just want a soda.. but I have a taste for something specific. Some days it's a Pepsi, even though I know the citric in Pepsi is going to make my psoriasis flare up. When I'm home, I'm content with a mini can - 100 calories size is plenty to satisfy my taste without doing too much damage to the scales. 

I'm down to the final nine days to get things in shape before I'm no longer home alone to work my own schedule. 

Yesterday, I put 4 C of shredded zucchini in 2-cup bags in the freezer. They'll be perfect for zucchini bread or adding to a spiced cake mix for quick muffins. I do the recipe with a 302 can (15 oz?) of pumpkin most of the time but I thought adding zucchini either in place of or in conjunction with the pumpkin would be an added fiber/ vegi quotient.

The recipe: 1 box of spiced cake mix plus one 302 can of pumpkin. That's it.. No oil, no eggs - nothing else. Then bake as usual. 

Today I have the components ready to stir up a crock pot of gumbo to snack on for the next couple of days. I use a modified version of Paula Deen's gumbo.  This recipe is usually in the crock pot on Christmas baking weekend.

Whatever your path this week, enjoy the journey

WEEKLY PLAN - October 31 - November 6

185/180/135

Yeah.. that middle number is painful. Other than not enough fruits and vegies, I'm not sure what I could have done different. Bob and I had two trips to Springfield. Both times I loaded up on protein and not much of anything else. Other than green beans, I'm still struggling with salad-type vegies, though some things are better with time. 

Bob also put a real snap on my Copper Fit tracker so I am putting it on more, regardless of the activity and getting steps counted.

Bob left yesterday and my schedule is my own. No eating out for at least the next eighteen days. With that in mind, I did a major grocery shopping trip at Walmart last night - primarily for protein. I've already cooked stuff today (Sunday) for Wednesday blog posts.

So this week, though I do have to spend a lot of time at the computer I am planning on yard work and walking more. Eating all of my meals at home should help a lot. We'll see if I can get that number to go back down again.

Bob won the last weight loss challenge. I was thrilled for him. He's only won maybe two times over the course of our challenges. He NEEDED to win this for motivation.  And while we're discussing Bob, the man who ate desserts every time we ate out - didn't gain a single pound! 

I'm not discouraged. I am motivated to turn this around before the number gets any higher.

What's your plan for the week?

Enjoy the journey!

Kelly