Finally Over The Hump

I hadn't lost a pound in over 3 weeks. Finally today I hit the mark! That's because I sweated it off yesterday, I think. And because my pt session was brutal. Anyway, yea!

Hot, Hot, N More Hot

Just trying to stay cool. Packing the trailer full of stuff to take to the BIG garage sale at Katie's mother in law's. Hoping it's a success. They live on a main drag. Getting rid of lots of stuff. Will probably be over there helping this weekend. No fire works in Flint this 4th ~ they said they don't have any money.



**stuff = junk in this blog.

Proud Lake, Wicked Thunderstorms & The Zoo

The camping trip to Proud Lake was lots of fun ~ cept for the wicked bad storms that kept us all up 2 nights in a row. Oh yeah, and the part where we arrived at the Detroit Zoo on Friday and found out it would be closing in 2 and 1/2 hours for a private event. So we drove back to the campground and decided to return back to the zoo on Saturday. Meanwhile we went to Kensington Metro Park for a picnic and some wildlife viewing.

Saturday we went to the zoo - whew it was hot! We walked til we dropped. Saw a lot of cool stuff. Pictures of some of the more unusual animal sights. The sloth in the rain forest exhibit was actually on the move (very slowly) to it's food. The docent said we were lucky to see it move - it normally sleeps up to 18 hours at a time. The next pic is one of the polar bears that decided to sit right on top of the viewing tube! The last pic is of some free roaming mammals - cute huh?

Gone Campin

Going camping with the Renee's to Proud Lake campground for the weekend. We are planning to go to the zoo on Friday. Hopefully no bad weather! I would like to go canoeing on Saturday. The storms need to stay south of us. See ya later...

It's Raining, It's POURING ~ June 17th

Happy Birthday Sarah (41) and Riley Rose Fisher (5). We have wet, soggy, soaked TP all over our front yard and trees. Sigh...... The idea was good, but now I'll be picking up TP all summer. It is so hard to get off once it's been wet. Going to make a birthday lowfat/sugar strawberry cheesecake. Can't wait to try it. Probably going to Mongolian BBQ for dinner. Coupon for free BD dinner.

I Love Good Morning Time

It was a beautiful morning this a.m. Just the right temp & breeze. Smells so fresh in the morning. I inadvertently scared some birds off the feeder when I put the blind up. Opps. The phrase "Good Morning Time" I stole from BFF Sydney. That's what she calls morning. Went to the Doc for my annual. He said my BP was perfect, my EKG was great, couldn't even make up something wrong. Hoping my A1C is down also. (blood sugar) He might let me take off one diabetes med. Depending on how the test comes out. Anyway, it was nice to hear the doc say, "you're doing awesome." For once!
We are cleaning blinds & windows today. Love the way the house smells after you clean. I think I'm a very sensory person. Especially as far as the olfactory goes. Nik is gone to her dad's for the summer. It is rather quiet. We will see how that goes...

Going to start the Dave Ramsey $$ stuff. I just kept hearing the name so I decided to look it up. Would really like to be debt free. That is not even a concept that sounds remotely do-able. Worth a try.

Ristorante de' Wheat Way

Ristorante de’ Wheat Way ~ Swartz Creek, Michigan


Main Course ~
Parmesan encrusted grilled grouper sandwich
On Grilled onion-rye bread with dill mayonnaise

Side Dishes ~
Homemade fresh low fat/sugar Slaw
Grilled seasoned asparagus spears

Choice of beverage tonight ~
Water with lemon slice
Red wine fruit spritzer

French Laundry, Karen Pianki (Mayes), & Chicken Salad

Had a wonderful breakfast with Karen who I haven't seen in way too many years. It was fun to catch up! I am glad to know I am not the only one who can't believe I'm 50! We met at the French Laundry in Fenton. They serve wonderful food. I am happy to report that I didn't over do. For dinner I made an awesome Grilled Tarragon Chicken Salad over a bed of spinach, drizzled with raspberry vinaigrette. Even Nik said it was deliciouso! Secret ingredients were: tarragon, apples, walnuts, dried cherries tossed with a little light olive oil mayo. Oh and of course grilled chicken.

10th of June

Went to Pt ~ now I can barely move! That's good right? Making my famous shrimp kabobs for dinner. Yum-o. Meeting Karen Pianki (Mayes) for breakfast tomorrow. Can't wait. We haven't seen each other in a million year. Actually 20 or so. Drinking a protein shake; supposed to put the oomph back into my muscles. Like spinach to Popeye. Just rambling here. How about a list.
Things I hope to do this summer.

Walk in a 5k Hustle
Keep losing weight
Go to the cottage
Cut down at least 1 med
Go camping
Go to the Detroit Zoo
See Riley & Brady
Have an awesome garden
Read a book or 2
Ride on a rail trail
See a bird I've never seen
Go to the Melting Pot
Turn 51

Walking At For-Mar Nature Preserve

Friday was a beautiful day so we decided to venture out to For-Mar Nature Preserve. Where I worked for a few months a couple years ago. It was warm and sunny and not many bugs. Near perfect. We walked a few different paths and visited some new spots that I had not been when I worked there. Got a map that showed several different parks where we can walk or ride. We decided to stop by Sports Authority to get a bike rack. Also got some fanny-pack water bottle holders. Now we are all set. I think tonight we will check out the park in Flushing. (biking)

Tonight is Sesame Chicken w/Noodles and steamed broccoli. The recipe is from the Biggest Loser Cookbook.

Feelin The Pain!

Oh my! My trainer is working me hard ~ let me tell you. I could hardly move yesterday when she got through with me. But, I am getting stronger ~that is a good thing. I can walk faster and longer. Couple days ago went for a 1MILE walk. We are signing up for a 5k run/walk at Crossroads Village on July 9th. Hopefully I can make the whole thing. Sarah says next year we will run - we shall see.
This morning we were getting ready for Niki's regional playoff softball game and for a joke I decided to try on Sarah's size 16 jeans. ( I'm supposed to add that they didn't fit her anymore anyway.....) Well, it ended up to be no joke. They fit and I swiped them! I can't breathe too good, but that's ok. ha ha I guess I get the hand-me-downs, but she will get to go shopping for the new stuff. It's all good. By the way the Dragons lost, but played an excellent game; 0-1. A real tear jerker.

Hit The Mark!

Yea me ~ I entered that new "century" of weight.
Ok, so I tried the hummus recipe from "Biggest Loser" (the one I gave you Jan), it's yucky. I have to work on it. For now I'm going to buy store bought til I can perfect one of my own.

Funny of the day ~ went to the grocery store and forgot to buy ANY lettuce. One of the huge staples of any diet, eating well, nutritious program. ha ha Have to go back now.

Tahini Paste

So I said to myself, "self you can make Tahini paste, how hard could it be?" So I took some sesame seeds and pounded them right down with my awesome mortar and pestle (awesome birthday gift last year). Then I thought, hmmmm wonder what goes in with that. So I decided to look it up on the internet. Cha - so I won't be making tahini paste anytime soon. I'll just put the ground sesame into my hummus. Couldn't find tahini at the local Kroger. Might have to go to a middle eastern store or hmmm, maybe Meijer carries it. Anyway check it out below:

What is tahini?
Think peanut butter, only made with sesame seeds. To make tahini, sesame seeds are soaked in water for a day, then crushed to separate the bran from the kernels. The crushed seeds are put into salted water, where the bran sinks, but the kernels float and are skimmed off the surface. They are toasted, then ground to produce their oily paste. There are two types of tahini, light and dark, and the light ivory version is considered to have both the best flavor and texture.

A New "Century" Weight About To Happen

.5 lb more to go and I will enter a lower century of weight, of which my body hasn't seen in a very long time. I don't even remember when. I will no longer be in the 200 club. Whoo hoo, whoopie & celebrations! My prize is I get to go have a 1 hour massage! Can't wait. Hope it happens soon!

p.s. hope the rabbits don't jump the Marigolds before I can get out there with some smelly powder!

p.s.s. My blood sugars have been most excellent.

Last Day of May

Well we found the Ezekiel bread and the Greek yogurt at Dale's health food store. But, I will have to check the local Kroger since that's where it has been spotted. They may even have the yogurt, who knows. They just enlarged and improved our Kroger. While at Dales we decided to try a fresh sandwich. I had a veggie on pita and Sarah tried the hummus/veggie. They were both super yummy and actually rather decently priced.
Rented a tiller from HD and tilled the garden. Got it planted in with help from Renee & Sydney. Renee brought over Popsicle sticks for the markers and Syd helped me plant 2 flats of marigolds. (to deter the wabbits) She dug the holes with a little shovel - did a great job. She said, "I like planting a garden." She's got her eyes on the "salad" and cukes. We also planted: onions, tomatoes - 2 kinds, peppers, jalapenos, yellow squash, zucchini, okra ( that my sister sent me), shallots and I want to get a broccoli plant.
For dinner tonight we grilled a piece of chicken and then had portabello pizza. From the Biggest Loser Cookbook. It was quite good. I'm really starting to dig this whole healthy eating bit. Thanks everyone for your input and suggestions. I'm excited to try everything! Going to make some homeade hummus tomorrow.

A Nice Day Rounded Out With a Favorite Activity

Got whooped by Nikki my personal trainer at 10 a.m. She really works me hard! I think it is paying off though. Went to Nicole's district softball games at noon. They won both games so now they are moving on to the regionals next weekend at SVU in Saginaw. She did awesome. She was moved up from JV to Varsity for the games. Then home for a bath and short rest. Went to Applebee's for dinner and actually had a good healthy dinner. I choose one of the WW points dinners. Then to GNC to pick up some protein powder and vitamins. Got these awesome shaker cups with a metal ball inside that is supposed to break up the chunks. Then went BB & B to check out the "bullet." It's kind of pricey... probably just use the new shaker cup thingies. Bought egg framer thingies - to make homemade egg mcmuffins. Finally, went to Borders to browse and have a no fat, no sugar, no caffeine hot beverage. Tonight was a vanilla/raspberry nofat latte. This is one of our favorite things to do. We read various books and magazines while sipping a yummy hot or cold beverage. Tonight we were reviewing the "Biggest Loser" books and couldn't resist buying, The Biggest Loser 30 Day Jumpstart. Does anyone know were you can buy Greek Yogurt and "Ezekiel" bread? They use those allot. I may go try Dale's natural foods tomorrow. I am very excited to try many of the recipes!

Omletta de' Jur

The creative juices are flowing again. Tonight's masterpiece was a feta (fat free), spinach (fresh steamed) and tomato omelet. It was awesomely delicious. And beautiful to boot. Garnished with fresh mint from my iced tea garden.

Served with orange sections and Multi-grain sandwich thins. (Arnold's) Sarah says we should open a restaurant. But, that would be too much like work. I made some awesome Italian stuff that starts with an "M"today to take to the funeral home. It smelled so good and was so tempting to sneak a bite. But I was strong and only tasted 1 noodle! Busy day tomorrow. We are helping with the funeral luncheon then back home. Personal trainer at 4 for me. Saturday will be water aerobics at 9, then Niki's district game at 12 (she was pulled up to play varsity districts ~ quite an honor.) Then we are leaving to go up to Boyne.

Whew!

It's over! What a beautiful day for a wedding. There was only one hitch. I sent the Florida Cousins the wrong way on the expressway and they ended up far far away with only 5 minutes til 4. We of course waited for them to arrive. The wedding started a bit late but then some other people who came late ended up being on time. They don't look old enough to be married do they? Didn't the photographer do a great job? Everything else went smoothly, ahhhhhh. Took the cousins back to the airport this morning and now we are just chillin.

Busy, Busy, Busy

Up and at em! Went to water aerobics at 10. Home for a quick egg salad sammy. Run and do a quick estimate at the famous "pink house" on Atherton Rd. Back to Kohls. Sarah bought a new pair of Capri's size 14 and they WERE TOO BIG! Then to the bank, grocery store. Then a million phone calls to the boys cuz the trailer busted up good right on I 96 near Pleasant Valley Rd. 2 hour wait for the tow truck guy to tell them he couldn't do anything. so the left the trailer right there on the x-way full of crap. They stopped in Hartland on the way home and picked up a new one. Just like that. $1700 big ones! Poor guys, they were thirsty!! They didn't get home til after 6 p.m.
Anyway, then clean the house, water the plants, grilled some AWESOME turkey burgers for dinner. Now we're waiting for the Florida peeps to get in the air. Apparently there were some violent storms in northern FLA so they had to sit on the runway. The kids were getting cranky and hungry. Looks like they'll arrive into Metro round about 9ish. Thanks for letting us take the van T & R!

Time, Time, Time

So much to do, so little time!

Haven't even had a chance to post about my trip to Sunshine Farms last week. Met my sissy there and we had fun picking out new herbacious plants. She even bought me an early BD gift; a bay tree! Here are the pics of the plants before potting and also my new (old) little table that Sydney helped me paint. I will have after pics when everything is done.

Have been busy going to the gym, finishing up last minute plans for wedding, going to Nik's softball games, etc... This will be an extremely busy week! Picking up the Florida cousins at Metro on Thurs. nite. Can't wait!