Enjoying the Big Picture

One of the perks to losing weight is to be surprised with certain clothing that fits looser.  Today I pulled out a pair of cuffed capri-type jeans to wear.  The last time I wore these jeans was to a murder mystery dinner with several of my co-workers.  My company had purchased a table; because my commute is so far, I had thrown jeans and a shirt into a bag to change at work.  Obviously my mind was functioning in another universe because when it was time to slip my capris on they were tight....like unbearably tight.  There was no slipping - it was all tug and pull going on .  That whole night was spent in uncomfortable pain while enduring an unbelievable case of TPS - tight pant syndrome.  Hopping in my car for the drive home, my hands immediately unbuttoned and unzipped my pants to provide relief.  The fact that my internal organs were damaged in some way by the three-hour squeezing was quite surprising!  It also took about two days for the embedded lines across my stomach to disappear.

Well, today it was time for revenge.  This morning I slipped...and I do mean slipped...these jeans on and they fit!  Not only fit but were loose and in fact a belt was necessary to hold them on to my waist and hips.  When I'm focusing on working hard and watching what I eat, it's hard to see the big picture during the day-to-day motivation.  Today was a big-picture day and I'm looking forward to many more!!

The cherry on top?  I commented to someone today that I turned 50 this year, a fact that took them totally by surprise.  They said I looked a decade younger!!

Jeans fit, looking younger than my years...it was a good Saturday!!  And another event that made it even more memorable was being able to visit with my Michael this morning.  He's a fighter and he's been working hard to build his strength and health.  I'm praying for his return to good health soon and I'm thankful for his spirit and the strides he's making.

Give Me Protein!!!

In order to include more protein in my diet, I've added a few tidbits to my diet.  My new breakfast is a whey protein shake with fruit, flax seed meal, and chia seeds.  Then lunch brings a chopped salad - so good at restaurants so a new salad chopper tool made its way into my kitchen arsenal.  Topped with chicken or tuna, it's a yummy meal.

To allow more me time in the morning, last night I whipped up a couple of batches of shake to freeze then chopped a salad for my lunch. Even filled up my water bottles (with 2/3 water and 1/3 Minute Maid 15-calorie lemonade) so definitely reduced my rush in the morning.  Getting the coffee pot ready at night may also be the ticket to a stress free preparation for work.

My next errand this weekend for continued health improvement and weight loss is to visit the local GNC to pick up some Dr. Oz approved vitamin supplements, including one called Holy Basil!!  Yes, like Holy Basil Batman!!

Hit the 33 lb loss mark this week (38 since January) so my motivation continues to be strong to reach my goals!!!

Oh, since we are speaking of healthy....sister Julie text me this picture of her lunch today....smoothie of greens from her garden along with a scoop of almond butter.  She says Yum....I say it's a combination of baby diaper with Exorcist puke!!!  It's the kind of drink that needs to be in a non see-through mug!!!

Wait a minute....Julie also sent me a picture of her bonding with her cow.  Now it's all coming together...she's looking to her cow's diet for her own personal smoothie recipes!!

A Little Bite of Bacon!!

I promise - this is the last posting about my New England trip!!


While at my cousin's house, he shared the story of what did for his wife the previous day, her birthday.  He got up early, made some bacon, then caramelized some of it.  To cover his tracks, he brought Talia (a big bacon fan) a few pieces of bacon in bed.  Later, he made homemade bacon ice cream for her birthday treat, folding in the caramelized bacon pieces.  I was lucky enough to share some of this goodie after dinner with them.  And it was yummy!!

Another Airport Celebrity Sighting!

Forgot to mention another highlight of my trip happened while I waited for my flight in the Boston airport.  As the plane emptied from San Diego, out walked Richard Blais from Bravo's Top Chef!  He was the winner of Top Chef All Stars and has been on several other Bravo shows.

I debated throwing my pile of crap together and chasing him down for a selfie, but came to my senses.  He looked exactly the same as he does on tv.  I will now add him to my "celebrities I've seen in airports list", which includes William Hurt and Shirley Jones.

Happy 21st Birthday Jordan!!!

Yesterday, along with being my last day in Massachusetts, was son Jordan's 21st birthday!  Wow - 21 years already!!  He had a good celebration in his new home of Nebraska and sent me this pic - Hooters!!  Here's to many, many more new adventures for my son during this his 21st year!!

Jordan Celebrating his 21st!!!

Back From the Land of Bawston Accents!

Finally home from New England!!!  Arrived safely, pulled into home around 9:30 pm (12:30 am according to my "new" time), then flopped into bed!  I was a tired girl!!!

The New England trip was a whirlwind, filled with tons of data input, organization, and eating, although my healthy rules remained in place, oh, 80% of the time!   Our group of co-workers ate at Longhorn Steakhouse; The Mill No. 3 sandwich/garden restaurant; Barb's Restaurant, which mainly focused on omelets; and S.S. Lobster, which served a fantastic "lazy lobster" dish, meaning all the shell was removed and the lobster claws and meat floated in butter.  In addition, the kitchen and restaurant crew at the lodge was trying out recipes so food available at work included pizza, sandwiches, fudge, coffee, and Dunkin Donuts!  One of my co-workers also bestowed upon me a parting gift of the "absolute best cinnamon roll doughnut" from Gourmet Doughnuts.  I'd have to agree it was on the upper echelon of pastries!

Pics of New England lodge

The best meal I ate, however, was with my cousin Jon, his wife Talia, and son Kai on Thursday.  They live out in a wooded nature land - quiet, serene, with a unique home filled with a variety of porches, floors, and items of interest.  It was the first time I had met Kai - he is a cutie patootie!!  He also loved the wolf ears from me so that was a plus!  For dinner, we dined on New England cheese, including Vermont cheddar along with a cheese made from the morning milk, the evening milk, and divided with a line of ash.  Tasty!  The cheese was followed with grilled chicken salad; the topper was angel food cake, fresh berries, and whipped cream.  All of this made for a memorable evening with my family in a state far, far away from my home.

Before my departure, the lodge had it's soft opening on Friday.  I ended up being the first retail customer when I picked up a New England shirt for myself and my Michael.  My co-worker then gave me a lift to the airport; during the ride, Fenway Park made a quick appearance so my camera captured what it could.  Travel home was uneventful, other than a passenger who was rather cranky after I refused to trade my window seat with his girlfriend in a middle seat.  It had been a long trip and I was anxious to nap with my head against the outside clouds.

And now I'm home.  Whew!!  Time to scratch another state off my bucket list!!!  Here's to a rapid recovery from jet lag and settling in to my normal routine!!

Boston, family, cheese, and lobster roll!!

Mass Busy in Mass

Here I am in Fitchburg, MA and my trip is going by fast!  Lots to do at work, having lunch and dinner with co-workers, then trying to fit in time to exercise.

After arriving on Sunday, the fitness room called and I spent 30 minutes on the exercise bike.  Yesterday after work I took a trek to the Marshall's store nearby for some browsing - only a short walk but it still counts!  Tonight after dinner my workout was power walking around the hotel and neighboring business lot three times then climbing 7 floors of stairs twice.  Whew!

This morning a tour of the new lodge was on my agenda, which included lots of pictures, with of course one selfie!!

Off to relax for the rest of the night, enjoying switching between Chopped and Real Housewives of New York!

I'm Walkin, Yes Indeed I'm Walkin!

It's apparent today that my manic mood from last night has continued!  This morning after coffee I decided to take a longer walk than normal.

 I started cruising around the opposite side of the river from where I live, thinking I would walk awhile then turn around. Well the walk occurred but the turnaround did not. My walk, including some jogging, took me into town, forming a huge circle back to my house. After returning home, Stubbs and I took a drive to measure how far I trekked.  The total was 7.4 miles!  Yowza!  Kudos to me for my exercise efforts today!

After showering my next stop was the Toyota shop for an oil change, which was 5,000 miles overdue. I'm sitting here relaxing while my "express" service takes an hour. Worst part is the TV is set to girl's college fastpitch and I can't find the remote.

Can't wait to be back on the road to see my Michael before my trip tomorrow!!

Here's a little guy I saw on my walk today!  I'm posting from my phone so please excuse the double post of raccoon's pic!!

Bustin for Boston!

Today is the calm before the storm!  Last night after work my evening was taken up with reorganizing Michael's household items in my garage so my car would once again fit.  Then I fixed my vacuum, cleaned and picked up the house, did a load of laundry, cooked dinner, then trimmed and bathed Stubbins before sacking out around 9:30.  Woke up around 6am this morning; am currently debating a morning walk before getting ready to make my way to Portland to have lunch with my man.


This afternoon will include packing for my work trip to the Boston area tomorrow morning.  Never been there so looking forward to a new experience along with getting to see my cousin who lives 20 minutes from my worksite!  Thankfully it's a non-stop flight.  It also appears the weather will be acceptable - not too cold with a little rain so I'll be right at home!!


The best news for this upcoming week is that my Michael may soon be coming home!  Hopefully it will be after my return on Friday.  Here's prayers for a smooth and successful week in everything we do!!!

Seafood, Sun, and Seriously Slow

The sky was blue and the weather was warm so there was nothing to complain about this Mother's Day!  After coffee and a 45 minute walk, I cleaned up and made my way to Michael's.



After visiting for a bit, we then got picked up by Trimet to meet his family at the Portland Seafood Company for dinner. The ride to the restaurant was interesting.  A cranky, cantankerous old broad griped, groaned, and complained throughout the ride. At one point she asked to use a pen; no pen in purse, I offered her a pencil, which she promptly grabbed. And never returned!  I didn't begrudge her the pencil simply because I was so happy to see her get off the bus!



Arriving to the restaurant, we waited to be seated until the table was ready.  However, Michael's mom showed up and, since his attendance was a surprise for her, we booked it to the back table. My wheelchair skills aren't up to snuff yet, which meant I accidentally rammed my love's knee into the table. Ouch!



Michael's mom was surprised and there ended up being 16 of us around the table celebrating mothers.  It was a great gathering followed by lots of picture-taking in the sun before we caught the Trimet for home around 5:45 pm.



Trimet...argggg!!!!  It appears it operates on the first on, last out principle. We were the first on the bus but the driver made two more pickups and dropoffs before taking us back to the rehab facility....at 7:30 pm!!  Almost two hours on the bus!!!



Made it home; during my drive I sipped some of my black coffee from the morning. Bad idea as it's now almost midnight and I'm still awake!



Here's to a peaceful sleep...soon...and a week filled with sunshine, happiness and an encore of blue skies!!

A Day to Celebrate!!

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms in the world!!  My Mother's Day celebration this weekend included fitting into a pair of new jeans I purchased in March which were three sizes smaller than what I was wearing at that time.  I bought them for incentive and yesterday that day was reached!  Yippee!!!  

After spending time with Michael, my evening was spent  moving around my living room in order to reorganize the family room.  For my special day, Sam volunteered to finish the family room project for me today - nice!  In addition, which washing my laundry, which included a smaller pair of jeans I'd gotten new from Goodwill but had never fit (and now do) a small ring fell from the pocket when I pulled the jeans from the dryer.  It doesn't appear to be valuable, but it was in my finger size which makes it a treasure to me!  

Today will find me returning to Portland to take a trip with my Michael to meet his family for dinner.  It will be the first time we will have been out together aside from clinical settings since March.  Another yippee for that one!!  

Take time to relax today, unwind, breathe deeply, and count your blessings as you bask in the day that's just for you!!!

TGIF!!!

It's Friday and, thankfully, I'm feeling close to human again.  Still a bit queasy, but hopefully that will bid me adieu before the day is over.  Ended up with a three pound loss this week so, since my new healthy habits started in February, my total has now hit 30 pounds.  Yippers!  While part of me wants to hit the store to pick up some better fitting clothes, the practical side tells me to wait until I've lost more otherwise my new clothes will be obsolete in a few months.  It has been pretty nice to remove jeans that once couldn't button by having them drop to the floor by themselves. The only downside is the saggin booty style in the back due to excess fabric!!

Here's to all the mothers in the world enjoying this Mother's Day weekend!!!

Feelin the Flu

Nothing like a spring case of flu to make a gal feel sick...literally!  Monday found me feeling tired all day then queasy on my drive home.  After laying down for a quick nap, I then spent quite a bit of time fighting the urge to barf.  After finally giving in, this continued for the rest of the night - up every hour then trying to fit tiny bits of sleep in between bathroom visits.  Stayed home Tuesday; tried to make it to work on Wednesday but a third of the way there my continued nausea, weakness, and body soreness overcame me and I had to turn around and return to bed.  Today is a better day - still some nausea, which may be from hunger since my diet mainstay has been popsicles, along with body soreness but I'll work through that to make it to my job.  The highlight of my illness has been dropping another two pounds; however, I'll forgo that next year when I remember to get a flu shot!!

My diet this week

The ABC's - Amish, Blanket, and Chillin!

Friday evening Jordan called to let me know he had arrived in Nebraska.  Apparently where his friends relocated is in Nebraska Amish country; Jordan noted that he saw several Amish with horse-drawn carriages.  In addition, there was a local Amish spaghetti dinner fundraiser so they all had that for dinner. What an adventure!  Seeing new states and experiencing new cultures and activities.  He's going to be making a lot of memories during his time in Nebraska!

Michael with his
new blankie

Saturday found me rising bright and early to go for a walk before the rain hit.  My regular walking shoes are at work so I threw on a pair of light weight running shoes I wear on occasion.  Not a good idea - halfway through my walk my right heel began hurting with a blister rearing its ugly head.  It was a simple annoyance to my excellent 3.6 mile walk.

Following my walk, I cleaned up then drove to visit my Michael with present in hand.  He is always cold so this past week I stitched together a quilt using the logos from all the tourist tee shirts from our adventures.  The backing included red quilting along with basketball fabric.  He was very surprised and happy with the quilt, although, fearing it would disappear from his temporary home at the rehab center, he had me take it home for safekeeping.

My new shoes

After my Michael visit my next stop was Vancouver Mall, where I picked up a new pair of at-home exercise shoes.  Bright colored Asics with gel memory phone plus on clearance so my tennies were a score.  Can't wait to use them!

My weight loss goals are also continuing nicely.  Since I started the end of February I've lost 27 pounds; since my birthday in January I've lost 32 pounds. I feel great, getting better every day, and it will be nice to be able to reach my goal.  The following pic is a comparison between my birthday pic against my peep pic last week, which gives me continued motivation.

Progress since January!

And now today is Sunday....ahhhh!  A day to relax, kick back, and pretty much chill, other than breaking in my new shoes for a walk in the rain.

Have a wonderful week Divas!!!

TGIF!!!