Thursday Already!!

Amazing how fast the week can go by…especially when I thought it was Friday on Monday…LOL   been a busy week…still working on the brick laying where the trees were…we re trying to do a little every morning when its cool enough to work outside, at least for us….we had the truck tuned up and had to take it out for a drive yesterday…we headed north and then took a side trip out into the desert, (on a county road) to Crystal Hill….it was beautiful out and we had a great morning playing…thought I would share some pictures….

 Teddy Bear Chollo

Crystal Hill below…

This is a picture (below) is right outside of the pool wear I swim, there are a row of hills/mountains and if we have clouds, they are generally right along the hills…was a beautiful day…(Tuesday)

My bedroom does not have a light switch, the switch is connected to a fan without a light…so until my son the electrician can come make switch magic happen, I did the next best, cheapest thing….yup..I bought a clapper…..Clap On-Clap Off..(anyone who has seen the commercials will definitely being singing that)  .LOL..I must say it works great…you say, why are you so lazy that you can’t turn on a light when you walk in the room, well a couple reasons, one, my bedroom is extremely dark, I have sun protectors on all the windows and the lamps are all well into the room so I have to enter a dark room, ( I am known to leave stuff lay around n the floor, trip hazard !)and 2nd, it actually irritates my arthritic fingers to turn the little nasty dial on the lamps….oh hum, life!!!  But hey…Clap On…Clap Off , I am golden!!!!

I have been doing okay..still have yet to loose a pound, I am counting calories and journaling, weighing in on Mondays…exercising in the pool, probably not enough, I have been eating 1200 – to 1500 calories a day all healthy food, lots of fruit/smoothies, salads, quinoa/rice and tons of vegies ….I need to start exercising, perhaps a gym run would help boost my energy level….however if you see how much I am sweating dealing with brick laying again …. I am getting over an hour, sometimes hour and half of an intense workout at least 4 days a week…I am moving bricks, shoveling sand/rocks from one place to another, at least that is what it seems like….so I will continue to trudge along….the weather is cooling off a little, I think that will help….

I am going to commit to blogging every day for a month again…I know that helps to journal on here….so until tomorrow…..

It’s Happening….

Well I did it…finally visited the last gym Yuma has to offer…and wouldn’t you know…its the best of them all and the cheapest…LOL  So I now have a membership to a gym again ($10 a month – 24/7)…I am jumping with joy…. they have a huge amount of free access to multiple machines to use as long as you want…then they have 2 separate circuit set ups…one is a 13 minute routine and the other 30 minute….kind of excited about both of those…I get a free session with a trainer to set up a routing…I will accept that even though I had a trainer at home for 3 months…I will go through the course to get all the info I can on there gym….and there are free classes offered…I haven’t had a chance to check them out yet….I am very excited, can you tell…LOL   My wonderful husband is on board completely….the only downside is no pool, but I have a great pool to work out in, just at a different location…oh well…its all good….I am so jacked I want to go to the gym tonight…but its mothers day and I have claimed it my day…had dinner at the Olive Garden early, tight when they opened at 11a to beat the crowds…it was insane at 11a…but we got right in and had a lovely lunch……yummm then we went house hunting and dreaming of the area we would want to live in ….that was fun….and educating…went by and checked on some friends house that have gone home for the summer…been a lovely day…ended with an ice cream and my pajamas….I hope everyone had a wonderful mum’s day….I know I did!!…

Ahhh the weekend is over…

Been a windy weekend…the dust was especially bad yesterday….I tried to sit outside in the corner of the carport area but the wind and dust kept finding me….and this morning its blowing around 22mph…..suppose to slow down this afternoon….certainly gives you cabin fever….LOL my new pool is over at the base of the foothills where the dust is picked up first so I have not been swimming for 2 days…hopefully I will get to go this afternoon…

I actually picked up the weights yesterday and started a routine…today I will increase the reps, I can say I don’t feel anything from yesterday….but again I am not into hurting the next day from workouts….Spent a good hour in the pool and got a good work out in..only one there so it was very zen……notice the flag in the background sticking straight out…it was windy…..

Doing pretty well in the calorie department…I seem to get to 6p and then around 8 my urge to eat starts…last night I ate granola….so I was over my quota by a bit…but it was all healthy food…just to much of it….today I am 1217…so all’s good…weigh in the morning and am hoping for some weight loss….but I will be happy just getting through the evening without eating….I keep saying popsicles, popsicles, popsicles….!!!

With the wind comes changes in the weather making arthritis raise its ugly head….even the dog is limping more….but its 6:30 and 85′, and the wind has stopped….yay….suppose to hit 99′ this week…look’s like summer is coming like it or not!!

So until tomorrow…..

 

 

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….

Shout out to WBFM

Cameron over at  http://worldsbiggestfridgemagnet.com/ commented on how he saw Easter eggs already in the stores in England….well I visited a store yesterday and we are getting ready here too…small shelf for St. Patrick’s Day and Valentines had one isle….but Easter was everywhere…this is 2 different isles and both sides were full…so commercial…..and cheap!!!  WELL….if you haven’t visited Cameron’s blog, head over, he’s a great chap and he’s doing wonderful things he is walking for …HENRY a great charity that helps the children  here’s a great video of him explaining all about it….  take a minute and give it looksee…..    https://videopress.com/v/QW5Ibc1T and head on over and say hello to him…..

Well tomorrow my new dishwasher gets here I am thinking it will have to wait because we stopped and ordered a full pallet of Mexican bricks, or adobe bricks as I was told today is the proper name, they will be here in the morning…500 beautiful bricks…we went and bought new gloves and are ready…LOL…I went a little crazy and painted my stepping stones…. not sure where they will wind up, but they are colorful, kinda looks like Easter eggs…LOL   and that’s the cactus that bite me….she had made herself know she is in charge and will not tolerate me touching her…lol since I took this picture I have tossed, well hefted these stepping stones into the flower bed in front of the house…this is one of the areas we are laying bricks…it will look nice when we are done…we will actually have to try to lay these a little flatter/level since we are using them as a walk way to the other side of the house…where there is another door…Ahem big sigh  will it ever end….

Doing well calorie wise….right at 1200 a day…and working hard outside…weather is getting warm…85 today…and windy…we will be up early and out when the sun rises getting the areas ready….I know why siestas came to happen…to hot to work in the afternoon sun….LOL

Well the washer has just stopped, I need to go hang the laundry in the Arizona room on a wooden stand…with humidity at 20% they will be dry by morning…

until tomorrow…..

Monday Monday…..

Well its been one of those days…..rain….as much as I love it, my body hates it…I woke up with my hands aching like they had peeled a thousand bananas….my shoulder, well lets just day its invited my elbow to the party… I am not trying to sound like a cry baby…but WTF so I had a couple appointments this morning and then I am house sitting my daughters home so I went and stayed with the kitties for awhile, but they had the right idea…curl up under the blankets on the bed….so I left there and the entire way to the gym I tried to talk myself out of going…but when I got in the pool everything felt a little better and even more so in the hot tub….so I am so glad I went….I just kept thinking about the hot water….ahhhhh   the only problem when I hurt this bad all I want is comfort food….so I am at 1500cal, mostly hot soup and yogurts….but still over my quota….I am not beating myself up as I did exercise and that has to count for something against the calories…..big sigh….

We have the RV parked out front and the loading has begun…The rain has stopped and its suppose to be sunny and cool tomorrow but at least I can finish up some of my projects outside and finish the yard for cold wet weather while we are gone…

so been a long day I am heading for bed….until tomorrow everyone…sweet dreams to those hitting hay and happy days for those just welcoming in Tuesday morning….kat

Down by One

 

Well I jumped out of bed and ran to the scale at 5:30a…..no weight loss…what..??  I went back to bed shaking my head wondering what was up with that…oh hum….drifted off to sleep until 8a…so I was up changing sheets and dealing with life and I walked by the scale scowling at it, I heard it say go head try it again….so I kicked off my slippers, took off my robe, made sure my phone was off my body….surprised I didn’t strip…LOL  I stepped on the teaser and low and behold I was down 1#…..so I finished my bed making with a lighter step and stopped and told the scale I was sorry for the name calling earlier…LOL  So the weight loss is at 64#’s…..I am not sure why it has slowed down, well lets be honest I did take over a week off and then just really got back at it…and I am so happy with the results I have so far, I fit in booths, I am back into clothes that have been in boxes at the top of my closet for years…I have great stamina and strength once again…and just the over all feeling of health I have is so wonderful…..I am thinking I need to refine my eating once again….get away from the higher carbs foods and fruit  and get back to more protein based food.  I just made myself a ground turkey-kale meat loaf and stuffed some bell peppers with zucchini and mushrooms….layered with parmesan cheese…in a marina sauce….so that will be my meals this next week…then off in the RV…..So overall I am very happy and grateful for how far I have come…I don’t want anyone to think I am not grateful for where I am at, I am by leaps and bounds thankful…So I will weight next Friday before we leave and then not until we get back…I will continue to stay under 1500 calories and exercise on the road, I am taking my hand weights and have a routine worked out…not to do it is the next step…LoL…my next goal is 250# and I am only 12# away…I am hoping to be close when I get back….there I said it out loud, so now I will have to really work on it…LOL

Food is okay today….we went to a Chinese restaurant and I had my old stand-by chicken curry…yum…..with fried rice and I splurged on steamed pork bun…..they make the best one in the county…but there is my problem…to many carbs…..hummm  I can see my problem…

My arthritis is better…I really think the pool and the hot tub are healing….my shoulder is not 100% pain free but it is better…..achiness is way better…..

On to the weekend…..enjoy everyone….kat

Thursday

Been a long day….I think I am finally shaking my bug….no fever all day…yay…and the urge for comfort food is subsiding…I hate not feeling well..

I got my new bed…took a nice long nap in it today…so comfy….looking forward to a good night sleep tonight…. my calories are  at 1600 today……on the high side again, I have been mostly sleeping, but when I am up all I want is to snuggle in my robe and eat comfort foods….I am hoping I jump out of bed in the morning and feel like heading to the gym….

My arthritis is doing okay…I have been taking advil or Tylenol every 4 to 6 hours for the past couple days so it is keeping all the arthritic pains at bay….

Nothing else to day…heading to bed…hopefully I will have a good gym report tomorrow and get my calories back down to where I like them…

Until tomorrow

What a great weekend….

Well we got home this afternoon from the most relaxing weekend….We started at Jackson Rancheria in Jackson, Calif., we had a great time, good weather and beautiful setting, they had a great heated pool so I was able to get in a good workout all by myself and watched a great sunset at the end of the day….

 

then we headed north thought El Dorado County.. extremely dry but still beautiful, the Golden Hills of California……

Onto Coloma…..  Where James Marshall was the first man to discover Gold in 1848, and Sutter’s Mill…Beautiful State Park, we had a camp site right on the American River…

Muddy from a rain they had 2 days earlier and the King Fire from last year is creating a mud runoff into the river from the burnt areas just North of there..can’t really see the muddy water but it is bad. Another picture of the river from up above….

Across from our campsite….sorry about the pictures, taken with my cheap phone…LOL

Saturday and Sunday was spent with our niece and her son, we enjoyed eating out at the Sierra Nevada House one night for dinner, it was yummy, I had the vegan pot pie made with wonderful root vegies….I didn’t count any calories all weekend just had a good time, Watched what I ate, I did have some bread, it was divine…On Sunday we helped celebrate the end of the season at the Lotus Campground where  a potluck was happening and good music…its a real small community and everyone is there to support each other and everyone knows everyone…we were welcomed with open arms and felt like family from the moment we arrived…then off to my nieces for a BBQ on the patio over the fire pit and watch the sun set through the oak trees…

I am home and already back at it..my calorie count today is 1017….I was going to go to the gym tonight but I am exhausted so I will be there first thing in the morning…and go to the water aerobics class at 9a, I will be fresh in the morning and ready for a good workout, especially after a good night sleep…

My arthritis was very unhappy all weekend, cold nights and damp weather, needless to say I was taking ibuprofen all weekend…and using cream….not a bad payoff for a great relaxing weekend….couldn’t do it for a very long time…but a couple days…no problem….

So until tomorrow….

.