Saturday…..hummmm de dummm

Well I did it…. I really did it….I texted a friend early this morning the word – gym???  thinking if I ask someone to go with me then I have to go…no excuses, well unless she drives herself then I can still stay home if I want….I was hoping she was still sleeping….nope….she texted back when?  I said 11a – and went ahead and added –  wanna ride??….she said Yup!!….and there it was….I had to go, no way out…so I went to the gym….10 weeks away and can I ever tell…pretty pathetic actually….I knew enough to start out easy, not to heavy weights, well I didn’t have a choice…LOL  I couldn’t lift anything where I was 10 weeks ago…so I start over…I even got a quarter mile in on the tread mill…I know I hear you, that’s all!!!  Well for me and my arthritic knee, that was a lot…so was happy with that…I can tell you my arms are a little sore tonight, mostly focused on them and the abductors…..my knee and ankles weren’t having any part of the there machines today…I even made an appointment with the trainer on Tuesday for an hour with her – so lookin forward to that.  Then I went to the pool,  spent 40 minutes there and was just getting my jogging started when in walked a family with 2 small boys…one screaming and not having any part of swimming…that was enough for me to head out…but I also was up and outside at 7a to finish the brick project…sweeping sand in the cracks and then shoveling the rest into the wheel barrow to spread out front the gate…worked up a real good sweat doing that….

….but soooo happy the little project is done…whooo hoooo

I was laying in bed this morning, it was around 4a, all of a sudden it hit me….I may not meet my personal goal I set for myself last year….I was to be at 199#’s by January 1st, 2017..I gave myself an entire year to do ….was doing really well too!!!  ..I hadn’t thought about it much in the last 3 months, obviously !!!  I went on an eating binge on my 6 week vacation…came home and have been beating around the bush so to speak, making excuses to why I couldn’t go to the gym, worked to hard outside, its hot, way to many to write on here… oh boo hoo for me….but I started adding up the days till 2017, and its just right around the corner ….aggghhhhhh   my heart started to beat faster, I got all pissed off at myself for sabotaging my goal…without even thinking about it….119 days till the New Year…87# to loose….doesn’t give me much time…if I can even do it….but you know what, I am going to give it the best damn chance I can….that’s a little over 25#’s a month…eeeek  I am not sure I can, but like the little train said –

I think I can – I think I can – I think I can…..

So starts the race to the New Year…not sure I will weigh until then…but then again I probably will, I like to watch the scale go down…incentive…my calorie total is 1337 today, all healthy, no eating after 6p and I got lots of exercise…whooo hoooo …over an hour at the gym, 40 minutes in the pool of exercise, and a good hour this morning of pure sweat equity put into our home…LOL

Here’s a picture of the sun setting on my way home from the pool…taken from the car driving home…the phone didn’t pick up the intense pink/orange color….

Until tomorrow…..

NEW MOON…..

  Another reason to have a twirl under the big NEW MOON…..not that I need a reason, but new moons are just as magical as a full moons….so go out do a jig, twirl or full on move about….and think about what you would like the universe to know, help solve or just listen…..tonight I will have our friend Terry ( https://spearfruit.com/ )   in my thoughts….asking the universe to care and heal him….and for out Oxford buddy, Cameron  ( https://worldsbiggestfridgemagnet.com/  )  for clear weather and a fantastic walk for his charity HENRY….I you have never visited these  2 wonderful men…go on over….read their blogs….they are a couple of good guys!!!   and as always clothes are optional while dancing tonight….LOL

Been a wonderfully hot weekend…LOL  up to 114 yesterday….been watching a lot of Copa America soccer on the TV, to hot to do much else…LOL  I have been able to stop eating the last 2 nights at 6p…feels good to get a little control over the inner rebel…calories  on Friday 1087 and yesterday 1323…so within my range…1000 to 1500…we are trying to get the freezer cleaned out as we leave in 3 weeks so its been pick and choose…LOL  so that’s a good thing…as I always make extra and freeze…I hate to say I haven’t been back to the gym….it just seems to hot to go work out in a hot gym….but I have been at the pool, with the exception of yesterday…just to hot…sounds crazy,you would think I would be there most the day…I will be there tonight for sure…I need to get a work out in and absorb some moisture…LOL   I can dance in the pool as I don’t go until the sun sets…LOL

Lifes good in desert paradise….looking forward to the new week….keep smiling and twirling…..LOL

 

Well just came in from watching a great thunder and lightening storm from the deck….I love storms….hardly any rain,  just enough to make the ground wet….but different weather than sun….whoooo hoooo okay I have an update…its been slamming rain for about an hour now and no sign of it stopping….very exciting for us….lovin it…

Well my workout yesterday worked..my body has reminded me of how hard I pushed it…I went back to the way I worked out in Calif. start out light, move the weights up each set, ending pushing myself…LOL  I only did 12 reps per set, but I know that will increase…so I am feeling very confident about reaching my next goal….its all about discipline and  tenacity….so off to the gym in the morning &if my sinus are up to it off to the pool in the afternoon… I need to remember to keep my head above the water…water out of my ear canals….I hit 1800 calories again today….very satisfied, good healthy food….

Arthritis is acting up…weather change always gives me the heads up that its in control of my pain no matter what I take for it..!!

Just want to remind every one that the 21st is Full MOON night…LOL you all know what that means…..however when your out dancing in the moon light please think good thoughts for our Terry  (https://spearfruit.com/)  lets help him and Gary sell that house so they can get on the road!!!  Can’t hurt….give a twirl…..only takes a minute…..

Until tomorrow……

I’m Back….

Good Day everyone…..woke up feeling like my old self…yay…Antibiotics are magical…..thanks for all the well wishes….I hate feeling like crap!!!

Not only did I wake up without a headache, I woke up wondering WTF I was doing to myself….carbs, sweets, late night eating…Really ?  Really?    Is all I can say…so I am back at it….cut my calories back to 1000 a day for awhile….I was just out of control before and I am going back to what I know works….I know how much food I can consume on that many calories….lots if you eat healthy, nutritional food….I feel good, my head is clear….not quite up to exercising or going to the pool, however I did go out over the last week and check out 2 more gyms…one called Snap Fitness (1 mile from my house & $30 a month) and Planet Fitness, (8 miles from home and $10 a month) and then, there is the big blue exercise ball sitting in my bedroom holding extra clothes, and my weights….hummm   I am going to make up a routine for myself including some of the knee lifts I used to do, I was doing 100 of them daily and also sit ups in bed every night…also 100 of them….I will add those back in to my daily life…and figure out a simple but effect routine with the ball and weights, 20 to 30 minutes 4-6 days a week….I don’t need a gym to succeed in my weight loss…I have all the tools I need right here at home…I am going to give myself a few more days before I start exercising, as I am still recovering from being sick… but will get back on the healthy eating routine that I was in before starting today…I am not beating myself up for gaining back 10#’s, but I have done a couple swift kicks in the arse….well deserved for sure….but just chalking it up to what it was…I fell off the wagon so to say…but once again back on it…I did weigh in today, 270!!!  My body feels it…my hip pain that left along time ago is back…my body is swollen, joints ache….I am sure that is from the carbs/yeast foods that I was eating, telling myself its okay…..I need to first apologize to my body for letting it down, and promise myself to take better care of me!!!  and then last, try to learn from my mistake…..I am pretty hard headed…get that from my parents, one Irish, the other English/German….hummm yep I am really stubborn….LOL   I am also journaling not only on Fat Secret APP on my phone…and in a notebook….I will do this at least for a month or more until it comes naturally again…I am being totally accountable to myself for every morsel that enters my mouth….

I realize the day is not over, but I have all my food prepared for the day so I can say positively I am at 993 calories today….have drank 5 bottles of water, cut my coffee intake back to 1 cup in the morning and 1 cup of iced coffee in the afternoon…we have changed to caffeine free coffee for my husband….he has essential tremors and with all the inhalers he uses for his COPD his tremors are getting worse…deleting caffeine from our diet can only help, and in more ways than one…

I know I can hear a couple of you saying, you have to eat more than 1000 calories, however, I had an omelet with 1/2 once cheese and 1/4 cup of cottage cheese for breakfast, protein and calcium…..lunch is a carrot, tomato, onion,  zucchini soup with spicy chicken …it is almost 3 cups more than I want…dinner is 2 cups mixed salad greens with cucumber and tomato with fresh lemon….I will have an orange later, and have had a watermelon (2c) smoothie made with its own juice after breakfast..all adding up to 993….and a belly full of healthy food!!!!   feels good!!!

Found this on Facebook and thought it fit the bill!!!!!

Until tomorrow…

Tuesday…..

Well I have to say that I am happy to be home….we talked about whether it was going to feel like we were home when we got here or not….and I am home…as I explained to my sweetheart, home is wherever he is….whether we are in the RV, or here in Yuma….the house in California belongs to us, but its not home anymore…..because we are not there…

I have an appointment tomorrow morning at 8:45a to meet up to join my new pool community…so I should get in a good work out there…I was so lucky over the weekend to spend almost everyday in a pool or hot springs….even on the way home I made sure we stayed at a place with a great pool and hot tub…did okay on my calories….definitely over my quota but I journaled everything I ate…so getting back at it….setting up a spot in the house to do a morning work out with my weights and blue ball…I am thinking 30 minutes to start with….that’s what I was doing at the gym and then the pool…I did it at least 4 times a week and swam almost everyday…

My brother and his wife are getting ready to leave for the summer….its going to be really quiet after they leave…I will miss them…

Arthritis is calming down….what a difference getting home to low humidity, and warmth….makes me understand why so many people gather to the southwest for there health…..

oaky till tomorrow…..kat

 

 

Day 22

  For those who didn’t survive…..

Another wonderful day in desert Paradise….just got back from the gym….much better today….only 3 other woman were there when I arrived…and 9 of us when I left….all older woman bobbing around jabbering with each other, man do they like to gossip…LOL….I got in my 20+ minutes of jogging in the pool, and I was able to do a bunch of other exercises I used to do back home…felt great..I am going to try to make it to a water exercise class tomorrow….I was the only one in the hot tub, very nice….my body seems to be happier just after 2 days in the pool…..I bought the exercise ball and weights and will start tonight getting a routine in while I watch my NCIS shows…LOL  finally feeling  like I am back on the health path….yay….hoping to see the scale show some progress, hopefully get off the weight I just gained back…no I am not being hard on myself… just honest….

Well we are having a little wind with our sun today….up around 19mph….enough to kick up the sand and dust…the pool had quite a lot of palm leaves floating around…besides the hot heat in the summer the wind is the only other downside of living here…as its just not wind, its all the crap it picks up across the desert for 50 to 100 miles away and brings it to our yard….really can reek havoc with COPD, allergies, it just can’t be healthy for you….but the upside is, it only last a couple days or so…then its gone..

sunset last night….my little cell phone doesn’t do it justice…but it was pretty spectacular….

.

  Just so you know I am having fun….I have been coloring mandalas outside….got keep the creative juices flowing in the  brain….LOL

until tomorrow….don’t forget about the full moon tomorrow night….should be lots of dancing going on around the world…we can dance for peace……my heart goes out to those in Brussels tonight….

Day 18

Friday…work week over…onto the weekend…it was a good day…up early…did some yard work…cleaned the house, well straightened it up…game night was at our house this week…every Friday we all get together to play some dice game and a tile game called chicken foot, we + us, my brother and his wife and another couple, friends of my brothers..so that was fun…they will all be leaving in the next few weeks…most of the winter visitors will be gone by the end of the month…looking forward to less people….

Doing okay in the food area…not counting calories….just watching what I eat…the stress of the house renovations are coming to an end…YAY…only the steps and small deck left and I am hoping that by the end of next week that will all be done….then we are stopping for awhile…just going to enjoy life without worrying about what more needs to be done…weather is great…..low 90’s….surprising how wonderful the dry heat feels..my arthritis is like the dry heat, so happy that some of the aches and pains are at bay…they have been bailing hay, so my allergies are acting up, but hey it is spring after all….I am not sure when they pant the cotton, but that is also grown here as well, my sinus’s really hate it when its harvested…hopefully I will be able to get some pictures of those crops…and harvest…pretty interesting…

Well I find myself part of the day sitting outside under our Ficus Trees…they are actually great shade trees and rustle in the wind….I rook a few pictures from my chair….

One of my favorite place to be…

Until tomorrow….

Day 7

Weigh in day….I lost 3#’s this week…don’t ask how….well I have been good and bad all week, I guess the good out weighed the bad..no pun intended….LOL    Aanyway…I will accept it and be thankful….so I am on my way to my next goal….250#’s…..can’t wait to reach it and then move on…seems I have been trying to get there since before Thanksgiving….oh ya…we bought a fixer upper in Yuma….that’s what I have been doing….but why can’t I do both…hummm pretty sure I could of, should of….what the hell…I am going to finally beat these last 10#’s….I won’t even think about the next 50 pounds… LOL  oh well- as the Ring Master said – On With The Show –

Been a good day….I ate a little more today than I should of, but I always let weigh in day kinda be a free for all day….I indulged in a new coconut peanut butter by healthy choice…it is so good…..I ate it with an apple and had a PBJ sandwich this evening..it is like a little jar of yummm….I just wished it came in crunchy…only creamy….believe me I won’t be buying another jar….

Been a lot cooler today…it even got a little wet…not so much as rain falling all at one time…but damp enough to wet the rode…they call that rain down here…LOL  well until monsoon season..it was almost like being in California today, overcast, cool and refreshing….LOL   however the ole bones are not happy…pain creeping back in just like being back in California…LOL….sad that we can enjoy the cool weather for the freshness it brings to our lungs, and faces, but the bones hate the cold weather…find my self reaching for the Advil way to often….warm, dry weather coming back by the end of the week…at least my bones will like it…

Our guy came and started the bricks today….its the first time he has ever laid bricks…his job is a little better than mine…but not by much…LOL  oh well at least I am not doing it…I also spent the morning cutting back my big Ocotillo in the corner in the back yard…well it turns out that it was over half dead……so that made it easy….we got the back yard cleaned up…it is starting to take shape….

 We just love the bricks…so colorful….

 

 The ocotillo before I attacked it this morning…plus I removed all the dead sticks the ladies had sick up out of the ground…the leaves were the dead ones off the tree that is now gone…this is an old picture….

 The new and improved ocotillo….it just looked happier….the cement stepping stones I have been using the extra paint we have on…will be stepping stones to the back gate….the backyard is looking so much cleaner…amazing what a little clean up can do to a yard….and this picture was today…we can see the mountains with no problem….yesterday we could hardly see past the fence….

 looking out at the same mountain area…this was taken a month ago…but this is what yesterday looked like…only worse…

Well its late….until tomorrow….

 

 

Well we finished one side of the property this morning and decided to take the rest of the day ( picture below) .we drove out of town about 20 miles, turned off the highway and drove east another 12 miles to Castle Dome, a huge volcanic plug that you can see from out backyard…lots of mines near here….below is Castle Dome

One of my favorite cactus, the beautiful Saguaro’s this one has to be over 50 years as they do not start to grow arms until that age, and with two arms probably closer to 80…they are amazing….I love the trident look….

 mountains near the Dome They built up a ghost town, its okay but I would rather just see nature 

The Sonoran Desert near the Dome..I am in love with this….LOL Teddy Bear Chollo Cactus….

Been a great week…lots of exercise, we ordered a pallet of adobe bricks (500 of them),( we call them Mexican bricks), to finish the side yard, got all but about 80 laid down in 2 days…dug up 3 stumps in the backyard, we thought we were going to have to have the stump man come grind them, however, they were so rotten we were able to uproot them…YAY  save us some money….so getting plenty of exercise..

This one was pretty deep had to cut off some of its roots…he other one was easy-peasy..a couple shovels of sand and poof it lifted out..

 

this is the finished side of the driveway…..YAY

.I also bought some weights since I didn’t bring mine from California…so working them into my routine during the day…been eating a little over 1200 cal each day, but I am hungry so I would rather keep myself satisfied than feel deprived..

The temperature is 88′ so my arthritis is better…my knee isn’t always happy with all the bending to lay bricks, a couple advil good as new…LOL I am experiencing numbness in my hands at night…I had a neck injury when I was very young, (5yrs old)3  crushed vertebrae’s I am always careful of my neck, but I am thinking I have overworked that area of my body with all the frigin, beautiful bricks, so ice and routine Advil for a few days…hopefully I will have a  better night sleep…not whining just stating some facts out loud so now maybe I will do something about it….LOL.

I got my new dishwasher yesterday and now my new sink just arrived so maybe if I am good, my husband and brother will put that in this weekend….fingers crossed….

The dog got a good clipping and I am afraid everyone in the neighborhood has Chika fur in there yard…it was pretty windy when it came her turn for a clip and bath…LOL

well I am rambling….so I will leave you with a picture of the sunrise this morning…

 from our back yard….

Until tomorrow….

Look out — Here We Come……

We’re packed and ready to go….we are heading to Hwy #101 South….first stop is Yuma to see my brother and get rid of a couple bags and a huge picture frame…LOL  birthday presents and stuff I am handing off….then it will depend on the weather where we will head from there, we will end out trip back in Yuma for Thanksgiving….I am so ready to be on a road trip….the dog won’t let us out of her sight…she will not be left behind…she loves to travel as much as we do…

I am not ignoring anyone, but unless we have Wi-Fi I won’t be able to get on here, my phone is just a cheap Motorola, and it takes forever to get on the WP site…

I have had a good day….my knee is about 50% better…so that’s a good thing…I skipped the gym again, no way am I going to irritate it more before we start out on a road trip….foods been just okay..I need to get my self back on a low calorie quota again…did okay yesterday…I am over 1500 today….so looking forward to being on the road and getting into routine, I seem to be floundering here….getting back on the wagon is harder than I would like…not sure why but foundering is the only thought that comes to my mind..I am thinking the pastry….sugar….yeast….it is like my heroine….I know its my trigger so I just need to buckle down and fight through it….I am guessing the urges, desires and wants are always gonna be there when it comes to my trigger foods….dam those pastries…..dam my weakness….oh hum….big sigh….

so until I can find Wi-Fi…..kat