Monday

Its Monday…and all is way better in my life…my headache is gone, my tummy said, feed me, and all is better….I have kept my calories under 1000 these last couple days, and I am actually full and happy….only eating extremely healthy food, good stash tea, and lots of water…I feel better mentally and am so over sabotaging myself…..I can only move forward and get back on the ole proverbial wagon, so to say…I will not shoot myself in the foot again…I never say never, but will try to keep my six-shooter in the holster….I really don’t own a gun, so no worries…LOL   I did get on the scale on Sunday and I am pretty sure that I lost all that I consumed on Saturday….whooo hoooo for a quick start to weight lost…but I don’t recommend it at all!!!  The scale never went up or down…yahoooooo –  just hovered right there where it was….so that was nice….so feeling like I can do it again…

Got up this morning (5a) and was able to catch a few beautiful crescent moon beams and watch the sun rise….my little cheap Samsung phone refused to capture the beauty of the moon…so I will share the sunrise…

Then by noon, the wind picked up and we had a good ole dust storm, not real bad, but we could not see the mountains…been a long time since we have had a dust storm….

My good friend Rowena over at,  Beyond the Flow….nominated me for a 3 day Quote Challenge….Thank you Rowena, and as everyone knows, I never nominate anyone, but all…its fun and interesting to see what we all come up with…I am unable to get the link to add so you can just click on it and go directly to her blog…thanks to WP, please copy and paste here address below and go over and say hello and giver her blog a lookie looo, shes pretty special!!!  My Ausie friend from down under….

https://beyondtheflow.wordpress.com

So onto the fun…as you all know I can’t just add one quote….it would be to hard to choose….you can never go bad with Popeye. Mary Poppins and Einstein…..

Not sure who wrote this one…but its the best!!!

Until tomorrow……

Sunday….

I am so excited this morning….it was weigh day…down 5#s…..I was concerned as my calories have been in the 1500’s to 1800’s all week, but I have been exercising like crazy in the pool, and been to the gym twice this week….so I am very happy with my results of the week….will try to get the calories back down to 1200 this week and continue with the exercising, try to get to the gym a few more times….and hopefully I will be under 280….whooo hoooo short term goal…..

I missed a couple days, I have been in the pool till after 9p both nights, I realize its no excuse to not post, but by the time I get home, shower and sit down on my bed, I lay down and go sound asleep….LOL  been hot the last couple days, 107, 108, swimming at sunset into the night is so refreshing …the little bats come out at sunset, when the sky is pink and they dip down into the pool for a little drink… fun to watch….and no one is there…whooo hooo so I get on with my exercising all by myself….there a couple gals that swim at that time, but they are very nice and don’t what to chat to much…I am not a pool chatter….LOL….

The shed was due yesterday but the truck that was suppose to bring it broke down in Flagstaff….so its on hold until the truck is fixed. eta unknown….my only question to the gentleman that called was, you don’t have another truck???   Sounds like our sad truck story…LOL  We spent the first half of the day entertaining paint contractors….were getting bids to have this relic painted….LOL  its amazing at the difference in bids….the old neighbor man who lives adjacent to us across the street had yet to come over and meet us sent over one of his friends, were waiting on his bid…he asked what we were going to do with the old metal shed….he is going to take it, we told him as long as he would haul it off it was free…so  that was a bonus….we don’t have to deal with tearing it down and the sooner it is gone the better….so life is good in our world….its all about hurry up and wait, but still good….

so until tomorrow….hope you all enjoy your Sunday….I am certainly walking a little lighter today….LOL

Good Morning and welcome to June!!!!  Can’t believe how fast May went by…been a busy Memorial Day weekend….lots of swimming, enjoying the cool weather before the heat wave, and just good ole living!!! Gave the yard a good cool drink before the heat hits us…went around and checked everyone’s yards we are watching while they are away for the summer, all’s well in the desert.I am having to change my pool time to after the sun goes down ,so it will be late night swimming…hopefully all by myself….calories have been higher over the long weekend…just because…no excuses…but back on the 1200 quota as of today….need to get back to the gym….will be up and at the gym in the early hours, and swimming in the late….LOL….

Achy joints – hands and knee, not sure why….maybe my diet choices over the weekend have effected them…to many carbs….know that I wrote it down, it makes sense…LOL

starting to get piles together for our journey back to California…very excited to see my kids and everyone…

So Happy June to everyone….new moon on the 5th….get ready to dance!!!!!

Weigh in morning….

2#’s down….yay….I am feeling better…and noticing the loss…working really hard in the pool…I find that the time flies by jogging when your BS-ing with everyone…they are all floating around on there noodles…makes me laugh…I love talking with the older woman and men….its like a comedy skit….LOL   so that is helping…getting my late night waiting under control…so I know that is helping…all of your encouragement and kind words…I really do listen…and even try …LOL   that dam inner rebel..she’s got such a strong will…I am working hard to keep the bitch inline….LOL   but really I am excited about the weight loss and it really adds fuel to the fire….heading to the pool around 4p…suppose to crest 100 our today and I really don’t want to be in the sun..so will wait until it starts to set…hopefully the entire club won’t be thinking the same thing…LOL

arthritis is in check…how can it not in this kind of weather…LOL  my left knee lets me know if I have over used it in the pool, but I am paying attention…

Truck is in the shop getting her joints lubed and a full check up….so we should be able to go out next week and have a picnic at Palm Canyon

 These are off the internet…I will take pictures to share after we go..looks like a fun place….I have been extremely surprised at every place we have gone into, so beautiful and it actually feels like its another planet…can’t wait…

With that I am going to leave you with a few pictures of one of my favorite places…Monument Valley…on the border of Arizona and Utah….really it is another planet….if you have never visited I suggest you pan to go…we are planning to head up in a week or so for a few days….sooooo incredibly beautiful….As you can see I got these off the internet…this is really where John Wayne made his movies way back when….I will work on find my pictures….they are stored on an external device….until then…you have thses

The Grand Canyon, this is what Arizona is famous for…its on all our license plates..

And Horse Shoe Canyon right above the Grand Canyon in Utah…

Have a great day….I am!!!!

Just got home from the pool….spent 2-1/2 hours swimming and exercising….got a good 40 minutes in before anyone showed up….I also jogged 20 minutes so that felt good…can’t believe how refreshing the water is in the evening…I got a call from the gym…apparently something happen to the trainer, she could just be on vacation, but I would of thought that would of been blocked off the schedule…anyway I was told she was going to be gone for the next 2 weeks.(sorry they couldn’t tell me why-HIPPA), they were sorry…I was really looking forward to working with her tomorrow on a game plan….guess I will just go in and do the circuit by myself to the best of my ability…can’t hurt anything…LOL I could also just work out on the floor on the machines…lots of options…food has been great today…at 1483, so I am happy with that…only had some hummus and pretzels tonight, that put me over 250 calories…for some reason I thought it was only 120 calories…that’s what I get for going on what I thought…LOL I ate at 4p before I went swimming and had the pretzel snack pack when I got home…otherwise I was going to eat another sandwich and it was way to late to do that…tomorrow is weigh in day…kind-a excited to see what I have done this week…

Well I believe summer has hit the desert….suppose to be over a 100 tomorrow and the next day…then will settle into the 90’s during the day and still cooling off into the 70’s at night…but that will change very soon….so it will be late swimming for me….I don’t like to be in the hot sun for long…

The last 3 days have been insane with truck hunting….I know more than I have ever wanted to know about 4 wheel drives and trucks in general…LOL  yesterday and the day before we spent over 5 hours ach day going to dealers, used car lots, and going to see some being sold privately…. we checked out a jeep wrangler…totally fell in love with it, but it was a manual…and our old knees just won’t take that anymore…but it was fun…we then thought about it and the best bet would be a truck so we could use it to haul stuff too!!!  so after much calling and scouring Yuma Craig’s list adds, we found a 2001 Dodge Dakota – 4 wheeler….we can know go out and play in the sand in the desert and go on the dirt roads that are so bad for my car..We are having a once over on it tomorrow at a shop to make sure we don’t get stranded miles from no where and then we will be a little more free to go roam….can’t wait…

  Picture off the internet….

We were up early and drove to San Luis this morning before 8a to look at a red Toyota….it was 26 miles south of us, a border town…I guess he couldn’t put that the engine light was on….he had removed the catalytic convertor, said it got dirty and since there is no  emission testing in Yuma County he didn’t need it….hummmm so that was a no…but got to see the border of Mexico in the early morning…long line going in and coming out, I am assuming workers…We did learn that in Arizona, the MVD (Motor Vehicle Division) aka DMV, requires a title to be notarized to be sold…no bill of sale needed as there is no tax, you just pay for the registration fees and we have 15 days to show proof of insurance…we walked away with a new license plate, the old one is garbage…the title, tags and registration….no waiting 6 months like in California….its all done in one stop!!!   How nice…and it only cost $39 dollars….I was shocked….LOL  they will even notarize the titles for free if you ever want to sell the vehicle….I love it….however Pima county, Tucson and Phoenix have  the smog program in there county…I am loving this state more every day….

Well its late…for me anyway….until tomorrow….

 

Weigh in day….

Well you would think I am acting like a kid on the first day of school…LOL  I was awake at 4a…laid there waiting for the clock to tick by…didn’t want rush…LOL  so at 5a up took the dog out and did my thing, plugged in the coffee…tippy toed around, didn’t want hubby up disturbing the peaceful vibe…LOL  so back in to the scale…deep breath, actually said out..it is what it is…LOL   I have lost 3#’s.. last Thursday I weighed in at 270…and today I am 267….can’t think of how much bigger that number would of been, but no regrets…just do better in the future…so in all I am elated…whooo hoooo….on my way…I will do it, I will reach my next goal…it will not beat me!!!!   I can really get on a roll…I am sure I channel Helen Reddy sometimes…LOL….I Am Woman – Hear Me Roar….I won’t Eat Late Anymore…LA la LA la La…….I know I can be a jackass sometimes…LOL Anyway back to being serious….YAHOOOOOO   I am so happy that I didn’t gain any weight….I just need to tweek my eating habit, not my arse…LOL  I am on a roll I am so happy!!!!   Thanks everyone for the encouragement and kind words….

Well exercise was a bust at the pool today…we are having strong winds…hummm desert wind, dust…seems to be a repeat every other week here….anyway can’t see the mountains again so just getting my exercise in the house…

So Happy Cinco De Mayo to everyone…I spent the day cooking….I happen to drive by my favorite vegie stand and Mr. Gonzales is back, a week late, but he’s here…he gave me a great deal on vine ripened tomatoes so I made tomato sauce….to day along with stuffed bell peppers…yum…

Stuffed with black beans, bell peppers, onion, garlic, lots of Italian Seasoning and fresh oregano….baked at 375′ for 45 minutes.. and the last 10 minutes I added the cotija cheese and parmesan…140 calories per bell pepper….and they were good!!  Add a salad

 and we had our Cinco De Mayo lunch….it was yummy…finished the day off at 1600 calories….blaming the wonderful watermelon we picked up….juicy and sweet…

The wind is bringing in cold air and the bones and joints are making sure I am aware…LOL  but alls good…we might even get a little rain tomorrow…that would be a very nice change…2 days ago we hit 101’…we re having fun learning a complete new way of living….it is 180′ from what we were doing in California…

Until tomorrow…….

 

Wednesday

 

Well its been an interesting day….Dr. Jonathan, @ –  https://allabouthealthychoices.wordpress.com/

sent me a note –

Since we have a WordPress relationship I would like to ask you a question. Naturally, you are not obligated in any way to answer if you aren’t comfortable.
When my patients used to tell me they really weren’t hungry and kept their calories restricted (around 1200 calories,) I used to ask them why they felt they were not losing weight in the manner they desired. I have learned that perception and reality can vary greatly. You are active, happy, responsible about exercise and calorie consumption, yet something seems to be interfering with your goals. My question is, what do you think is impeding your progress?
I ask out of concern and a desire to understand the complexities of people to better help those in need and looking for answers. Again, I completely respect your right to privacy and will continue our wordpress relationship regardless.

My reply:

You make me smile….always hit the nail on the head don’t you….I haven’t been completely honest with myself….I have to stop eating late…I do my blog and poof I sit back to watch tv and my food addiction starts…..before I curbed with popsicles…can’t seem to get into them again…so I am afraid my late night munching is effecting my weight loss….whew glad I good say that out loud…I am not a closet eater, just can’t seem to get the late night eating under control again….before I would stand up and don 20 knee lifts every time I wanted to eat at night…that was a good cure all…..not sure why I can’t get back at it….I am loosing…but at a snails pace….I do wonderful up until I am sitting here alone in front of the boob tube…I know I hear you….turn it off and go to bed….maybe that’s the answer….so in all reality my calories at the time I blog are at that number, then I start to eat….I have to say that I haven’t gone over 1600calories all week, so I am doing way better…blogging helps…today I am at 1240 and its 2p…I plan to have some zucchini, which I love, later and that will bring my calorie quota up to 1320….I am so happy that you wrote to me, as I feel I can own it and will not eat more that that today….I will go back to doing the leg lifts…nothing like curbing the desire to eat than exercise…LOL.thank you jonathan…I hoped I answered your question…if not let me know what more you would like to know….mostly I can say I am a food a-holic and man its tuff to kick old habits….xxkat

And then:

:

Just wanted to say thank you again for helping me face my demon/rebel that seems to take over my sensible side….after I sent the last note I went and got a very serious workout in the pool for over an hour and have started doing what I know I should be doing….20+ knee lifts every time I think I need to go get something to eat…I am in charge and am totally aware of what I have to do…thank you again Jonathan…you may not think you did anything but ask me why and to share, but you opened up my eyes to what I need to do…and stop beating around the bush, its all about hard work…no one else can do it for me….thank you my friend…kat

So its been a day of soul searching and getting a grip on the late night eating…its working so far…its 7:30p and I am well on to my way to 100 knee lifts…LOL  time to get back to being in complete control and totally honest with myself and all of you…not that I have purposely lied to anyone, but since I haven’t been honest with myself , that means that I haven’t been with you all as well….for that I am sorry…didn’t mean too…its weigh in tomorrow –  I am excited to see if I am at least the same as last week…I had lost 1 pound on Friday when I checked so I am hoping I am at least even or less….no fingers crossed…it will be what it is….but I can guarantee that I am back in control and will not be swayed anymore by my inner rebel, that bitch is back where she belongs….I sit here shaking my head, I am 59 and have overcome huge obstacles in my life, but flash a frigin piece of bread, popcorn, ice cream or anything else that’s eatable and I am a goner… I have said it before and I will say it once again….hopefully for the last time…

Hello my name is Kathy and I am a food a-holic…..

xxxooo

 

 

Tuesday…

Another Good Day….do you get tired of me saying I had a good day all the time??  I don’t want to go over-board by saying fantastic, wonderful. over the moon day…but I am really having a great day most the time…LOL What can I say, I choose to live a positive life and make it the best dam day possible…food has been okay…I did have some ice cream and black berries…how can you pass on that….but just a small bowl…I am at 1132 calories…I have started my home exercise program…arms are sore, so I guess that’s a good thing…LOL  I have been following a fellow blogger, Billy over at…https://simplelivingover50.com/   his blog is about getting healthier, and staying out and in front of his DM, he has been talking about fasting and  the benefits that come with it…made me start thinking….I actually fast all the time…LOL  never even dawned to me…I rarely eat breakfast, just coffee and my vitamins….I normally don’t eat until after 12noon….been that way most of my life..so I am not sure it is working the same for me….I have always had trouble eating breakfast…food just doesn’t seem to interest me until after the morning hours….but am I hurting myself by not feeding my body in the morning?…believe me I am not really hungry even at noon, and it is a rare day if my tummy actually growls..hummm gonna have to think on this one….any ideas from you guys???.

Spent the day cleaning house…got a good workout in…vacuum, mopped, and dusted…even did some laundry…I was on a roll….LOL  then off to the store to continue to look for something for the Az room…we don’t want to spend a lot of money on furniture or anything else for that room…LOL it gets really hot out there since they didn’t insulate it…Nice huh…so we are not sure how well things will survive…so after many stores, and sitting in way to many patio chairs we ended up with a adirondack chairs and side tables, a type of wicker…but made out of manmade material…easy to clean…the fake silk house plant is coming back into my bedroom…I miss house plants…since we will be traveling here and there we can’t leave plants in the house to die…as it is I have 2 I have to carry along with me…LOL  the pictures on the wall are new, we are trying to keep it beachy, bright and happy…we also happen to have 30′ of lace on the windows…LOL  makes it a little more like home…

 

I was up before dawn…I zoomed in so I could get Castle Dome…the little bump out in the distance…

Then I got busy on putting strips on the steps…my sweetheart didn’t like how hard it was to see all the steps at first glance, all being gray…so I put a little red stripe on them…

BEFORE

AFTER             LOL !!!

Then the mail went….we have been trying out film for the windows that are difficult to cover with curtains…so the front in the kitchen has a bank of windows that people can look in…so we are using a type of heat resistant film with designs….it works and not to expensive…of course depending on the design and size…I like it…

As you can see my lace curtains don’t hide very much…LOL  so next best thing other than shades…..

So until tomorrow….

Friday….Good Day!!!!

Okay I literally jumped out of bed at 6a….jumped on the scale….and I have lost a pound…whew — deep breath….just checking in….so it made my step a little lighter today , I felt so much better about myself….Its been a good day….we actually left the house at 9a to go hit a few stores, introduced my husband to Hobby Lobby..he loved it   LOL.. it was nice to feel better….way better….I even hit the pool and got in a full 40 minutes of exercise…felt great….I am a little over the 1000 calorie quota but its all good…I did get in my 5 bottles of water….and feeling good….back in control….yay..

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…