Finding ONEderland

I'm doing really well. I have gone and worked out at Curves the last two days. I will probably go today but if I don't then I will go tomorrow so that I have three days in. I have been using the software I bought from fitday.com over a year ago. I had started last year but I was trying to do it and WW together. It works much better for me to not try and do both. I have decided to stop going to the WW meetings as they truly weren't working for me right now. WW does work, don't get me wrong....it' is just time for me to do something else now....to move on and up really. I will continue to use things I have learned from them along with all the other health information I have picked up from my reading addiction (knew my bookworm-iness would come in handy some day).

I am focusing eating healthy and being active. I love how the software I am using breaks everything down. I can see how much fiber, sodium and all kinds of other stuff I am getting in for the day. Though a little more work than just doing points it is letting me see how to do a more healthier picture.

I will weigh in on Saturdays at home. I have a nice digital scale that seems to be very accurate. I will continue to post my weigh-ins here. I am going to enjoy being able to sleep in an extra hour on Saturday. Then I can get up, weigh and have a healthy breakfast....getting the morning started off right from the get go.

As far as support I have all of you. And you all have gave me more motivation than the meetings by a long shot. I'll have my support group in that way.

Posted by Annie at 08:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I have been kinda of quiet on here, is why I am just now posting my weigh-in from Saturday. I have been thinking a lot lately...trying to decide if I am going to continue on with WW. I know it can work and all but I am wondering what will happen if I just eat healthy and get a good amount of exercise each day. Now that we are cooking at home more I think it could work to just fix healthy meals. I could do a food journal on my computer or use a site to do one...I could actually do one that had a lot more info than the WW one does. Also I am not so happy about the meetings right now. They are super crowded still and start 10 minutes late. I can't get a seat up front like I use to be able to unless I come in well over 30 minutes early. I just don't have the time to put into it for that. it ends up being an hour and half if I do. I just don't enjoy the meetings being in the back of the room. I went this last week and but only to weigh and left to go work out.

The workout was good. It was at Curves and got my 3 in for the week. I haven't been this week but I will be going today. Monday I pushed the mower around the yard...between all the picking up of sticks and trash that had blown into my yard and mowing it took me an hour and half. So it was a good workout. Yesterday I had a dentist appointment for the 6 month cleaning. So that killed my work out time. Then the evening was spent folding several loads of laundry. So mostly I am keeping active.

As far as food...my goal is to add a lot more whole foods, especially veggies and fruit. I have already been buying some organic things but I want to try and do better with this. I feel that it will be better for us health wise. I do worry a little with some of the bigger companies jumping into the organic field and will try and stick with smaller ones and mostly as local as I can.

Posted by Annie at 09:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I took half a day of vacation today to get out and enjoy the pretty weather some instead of being stuck in the office. Plus the dishwasher was being delivered. We got the dishwasher and it works fine for us. I showed my DH how it worked has he's never had one before.

I have started going back to work out at Curves. I had got out of the habit of doing it again after being sick a couple of times. I have been both days and will be going tomorrow too. Trying to figure out how to do that best since I got my WW meeting too. I had joined a challenge at Curves where you work out three times a week for six weeks. In order to get my third time in this week I have to work out tomorrow. I figure I could grab something light to eat so I don't feel week. Maybe a WW bar or something.

I am going to start some herbs to grow outside. I'll start them first in a mini green house that I can keep in the house and then move them out after it stops having some hard frosts. A friend got it for me cause I was talking about wanting to grow some herbs and asked when was the best time to do it. I'm thinking cilantro, basil, mint, parsley and maybe some oregano. The herbs will be healthy and taste great. I am also planning to make big use of the farmers market for some goodies.

Posted by Annie at 06:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

After much work I think I have the script working to do the CAPTCHA word verify. This will make sure it is a real person commenting but not force you to register with some site in order to post a comment. I wish I could have just turned the comments loose but the spammers made sure that I had to build some kind of wall against them. Some days I really miss the good old days of the internet before all these scumbags started taking over.

It turned out to be a very nice day out. I hope everyone else enjoyed the first day of spring this year as much as I did.

Posted by Annie at 06:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Setting up the authentication has not gone as well as I hoped. I had it set up to use Typekey but it kept saying the site wasn't signed up even though I had done what it said to set it up. I tried doing CAPTCHA but am having problems with that also. So after a few hours of dealing with it I have back to the old way for now but will work on it more....probably tonight. If you have had trouble commenting...pretty sure it wasn't letting anyone while I was tinkering around...I do apologize. I hope to get the CAPTCHA set up tonight if possible so that all you have to do is type in a few letters to match the picture. It is days like this that I think I would be better off with something like live journal.

Posted by Annie at 12:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I have gone to using authentication for comments. The spammers have been hitting me hard for a bit and I made some changes to cause their comments to not auto publish but it was also stopping some of the real comments. I want all my real commenters to be able to post right away so this is why I decided to use the authentication. If there are any problems with it not working please let me know, my email is on the main page. I really hope this does not stop comments from coming in. I'm sorry that I am having to do it that way....I really hate spammers. I also apologize to anyone who had a comment that had to wait on me to find it in my mail and approve it.

Well the dishwasher is ordered and should be here Friday. I got a Maytag one and I think I am going to be happy with it. It's a good week for it to get here too since it will motivate me to cook more and avoid the crowds from race weekend. I'm about 30 minutes from the Bristol raceway....wish I was even more cause I hate the traffic and I don't like the racing either. BTW if you like it that is great, I have a lot of friends that do but due to being a race widow with my first marriage I learned to hate it with a passion.

I found a cool treat, it's the Quaker mini delights in the cinnamon streusel flavor...they are yum. Nice treat with coffee for only 2pts. I have also tried another Kashi meal, the lemongrass coconut chicken one. It was ok but not one of my favorites. I probably won't buy it again as they are much better ones out there.

Weather is warming up again. It's suppose to be 80 by the weekend. I think it will be good for a little grilling....maybe a lot of grilling. Which is good I need to fire up the thing before the wasps try and take over it. I will also probably need to mow and get all the tall wild onions under control. Need to get some more walks in to get in better shape for pushing the mower over the whole yard. I hadn't walked the last few days cause I cleaned house, super spring cleaning style, over the weekend for almost five hours straight. I was so sore...this is the first day my ham strings have not ached. I think it was all the bending with the vacuum hose, sweeping and mopping that got me. But hey my house looked great so it was worth it. Not to mention it was quiet a few activity points I am sure.

Posted by Annie at 09:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I am trying to jump on the scale each morning before I shower so I can keep an idea of how I am doing. I do my best when I weigh daily. I know some people don't do good with doing it that way but it motivates me more if I do.

I have decided to get a portable dishwasher. I figure on what we save eating out (me avoiding cooking cause of the dishes) will more than pay for the dishwasher in a short time. I can't believe I have done without one this long. I find it something one really needs if they work full time. I don't want to give up what little free time I have doing the dishes.

Posted by Annie at 12:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Yesterday was another beautiful day. I got in two walks during my breaks at work even though on the second walk I had to talk myself into it. My stomach was a little sore...I think from where I tighten my abs when I walk. But I pushed on past that, didn't let the heat stop me as it was sunny and nearing the top of the 70s....which wouldn't really normally be hot but is a bit of a jump for right now. Once I got home and had dinner, my DH and I went for a walk, this one 30 minutes. I was amazed at how fast I was able to walk however I did pay the price with an awful shin cramp last night and sore muscle this morning. I guess I need to do a warm up and then stretch some before I start walking.

I'm so glad to see the warm weather showing up. I do hate that this weekend is going to be cool but I plan to still make the best of it. My DH and I are going to go watch a movie this weekend again and we have decided to use the mall as a place to get a little walk in.

One thing about my walks this year as compared to last year is that starting out I seem to have more stamina that I did last year even after a few weeks of going all the time. I think the weird chest feelings I was having last year caused this. When they were happening it ran me down bad. And for a while they were happening a lot. When they do happen now I have been lucky enough that they are short and rare. I think part of this is due to the supplements I am taking. I am taking flax seed oil with my morning vitamins and a Q10 and fish oil combo in the evening. The Q10 is suppose to help the heart and the healthy oils are good for the body including the heart. I really feel that this year I am back to myself.

On a food note I have been much better to get in my oils and milks. Also I found a couple of new Kashi meals to try. The one I had today is good. It is the Pesto Pasta Primavera, 6 points and made with canola oil and whole wheat pasta. I'll get it again for sure.

This morning when I stepped on the scale I saw a loss. My weigh-in is not till Saturday. I'll post how much then but I was really glad to see the scale moving down.

Posted by Annie at 09:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Today started out with me running behind, finding that my fridge was very bare when it came to some healthy choices to just grab and go. For breakfast I did an egg mcmuffin which is the lowest cal fast food I could find. Then for lunch I had a healthy roast beef wrap from subway. Our Subway now is offering raisins and sliced apples as a side. So I grabbed a pack of apples and saved them for my afternoon snack at work.

It was beautiful out today. I am not sure what the high was though I think it was mid 70s or higher. I was able to use my 15 minute breaks to get two nice walks in. I was going to go walking this evening also but I ran out of daylight before I got too. Still I think over all the day was a good one....especially for it to be one I wasn't well prepared for when I started the day out.

Posted by Annie at 07:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Yesterday and today have both been beautiful days weather wise. Yesterday we got out and watched a movie, Norbit with Eddie Murphy in it. It was okay but not as good as I thought it might be. What was great however was getting to go watch it. I had been avoiding going to do movies because of my knees hurting from where I had gained back the weight. So it really felt good to go do that again. I am looking forward to so much more that I can reclaim this year. I miss how my life was a couple years ago when I was eating healthy and exercising all the time. I am getting back what I had then and it is great and it's just going to get better!

Posted by Annie at 12:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I got my bosu in yesterday. It was much heavier than I thought it would be. Seems to be nice construction and heavy duty materials. So hopefully it will last me for a long time. I was able to balance on it okay. I was kinda worried I wouldn't be able to stand without falling right off of it. I do wobble some but mostly I am okay. I can tell it really works my body to balance. I watched some of the video that came with it but only did a few moves. I want to get use to the balance part first. Where it is around 10 inches high it makes the stepping on and off a little rough on my knees. I think as I get use to moving more that it will become easier.

We have more pretty weather this week. Saturday is suppose to be 66 but with a chance of showers...then Sunday 69 which will be great. I am so glad to see warmer weather. Looking forward to a lot of outdoor time. Especially with the time change. By the way if you didn't know already it is changing early this year. We will change the clocks this weekend. So next week I'll have that extra hour of daylight and that is great with the weather improving. I don't enjoy the getting up early and will fight for a week to get my sleep back to normal but after that is going to be wonderful.

Posted by Annie at 01:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I didn't sleep as well last night as hoped because of some stomach issues. What sleep I did get was good sleep though. I love the new mattress....I think it is going to make a huge difference in how I feel. I would never have thought it would so much. We all know how important good sleep is to being healthy and helping with weight loss.

Finally the water heater is fixed and no repair folks marching around in my house. I would drop down and kiss the floors if they weren't so tracked with mess from the last few days. I did manage to sweep but I need to mop now and I have hot water to do it with woot.

Today is suppose to be 64 degrees. I am hoping for a little walking this afternoon. I will take it a little easy for the next couple of days till my back feels some better. Hormones seem to be messing me with big time this month. I am hoping that the Bosu balancing trainer will help me work past some of these issues with my back. It's been years. I am ready to get back in good shape again. I should be getting my bosu soon. I am so excited!!

Last night we finally got to do some shopping, we had been stuck home each evening with repair guys. I picked up some of my healthy staples that I had run out of....fruit, yogurt, low fat milk and such. The end of the week will be much better eating wise that the first of it was. I am hoping to avoid any weight gain.

Posted by Annie at 08:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Things are getting better, though my water heater is not completely fixed, top element is going to need replacing, they do have it working to give hot water so I got a shower this morning. It really makes a difference in how I feel for the day. Also I got a good rest on the new mattress. I wanted to sleep longer this morning. I had stayed up and watched Heroes. I am not a big TV watcher but I like this show a lot. It's the only one I will stay up to watch...anything else the DVR can record. So tonight I will get a good nights rest.

Now I need to work damage control on all the fast food we have had since Saturday. If they come to fix the water heater today I will be stuck home yet again. But since I have hot water I can at least cook something healthy and be able to clean up while I do. I had avoided cooking cause I didn't want a pile of dirty dishes. It will be so good to have some nice healthy food. Lot more veggies than I have got for the last couple of days.

Right now I have a headache. I took some advil so hopefully that will pass and I can do a lot today. I have the energy to do it. Just need the pain to go away. My DH even commented on my energy...in fact he said I had too much I figure it was from getting such a good sleep even if it wasn't quite as long as I needed.

Posted by Annie at 09:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It's been one of those weeks for sure. It was late yesterday afternoon when they finally showed up to put the water heater in. It took a while and once they got it done they told me I should have hot water in 30 minutes. So we decided that we would get some food and do a quick run by to the mattress place as we needed a new one. So we went and bought a mattress and should have it delivered some time this week. After we ate and got back home I checked the water and it was cold. I called the guy and told him it was not working and he came back. He was there till after 10pm. I still don't have hot water. Wish me luck on getting this fixed soon.

I am not thrilled with the whole wash pan bath deal that I have had to do for the last couple of days. I grew up with it because we were poor and didn't have hot water in the house, or a bathroom for that matter. I just don't feel clean unless I get a shower because I hate the soap residue feeling from just washing off like that. TOM will be coming along any day now and I really really need the hot water fixed. You just don't realize how much you miss it till you don't have it. Things like washing dishes and clothes. I can do the clothes I wash in cold water but towels and bed linens I always do in hot so that it kills germs and stuff. I could throw some bleach in the towels and it would work but I don't bleach my bed linens....I think it causes them to tear up faster and I hate the way it smells. Plus with my dry skin I like my linens done with gentle products.

On the health front I did order a new piece of exercise equipment it is a bosu balance trainer. I am hoping it helps a lot to strengthen my core muscles and help my back. I have been wanting to try one for over a year and I finally bit the bullet and ordered one. I'll let you know how it goes once it arrives. I am hoping I can balance on it and not break my neck. LOL

Also I should be able to get some walking in as its going to be warming up again. It will be in the 50s today and tomorrow but the rest of the week promises 60s. Hopefully by them I will have hot water and not mind getting a little sweaty.

Posted by Annie at 09:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I'm still around and doing okay for the most part. My back is a little painful right now. That is from carrying 10 plastic crates of stuff out to the storage building. Part of this stuff had been up in the attic. The attic is a pain in the arse to get into as it is one of those fold down ladder/stairs deals. We had to pull the stuff from there because yesterday morning as I was preparing to leave for work I started hearing this sound of water dripping on metal. I went searching for the noise to find my washer being dripped on.....water was coming from the attic....the water heater had sprung a leak....a rather large one at that. Lucky I caught it in time to avoid any real damage to anything (least far as I know right now).

So today I am sitting here waiting on the repair guys my landlord hired to get here. Hopefully will also get my kitchen facet replace too as it is getting ready to go on me too. Starting to drip and a piece has cracked on it. Must be a bad time for plumbing. Hope nothing else goes out.

I didn't get to go to my WW meeting today. I just feel yucky without my shower and I couldn't stand to take a cold one this time of year. Not sure I could do a cold one even in the summer. Cold is not my thing and one of the reasons I have such a hard time exercising for a 1/4 of the year. I want to hibernate instead. But even then I need my nice warm showers. LOL

Least I can say I am in a better mood than I was a few days ago. I even got out the day after I posted last and got in a walk at work. I will be doing that more often as it warms up. I think that will help me a great deal when it comes to work right now.

Posted by Annie at 01:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)