Improvement

Now THAT'S tough. Phew! Ten classes in one day. However, I think I notice a bit of improvement in my shape at the end of the day. The eating is good. Now for a couple lessons ... yeah, I know I'm nuts. I'm waiting, but think they might have forgotten. To tell the truth, I'm not that disappointed.

The gold finches like my coneflowers. They sit on the heads and eat the seeds. It's great. They're some of my favorite birds.

I'm reading a fantastic book right now that I look forward to before I go to sleep. It's by Diana Gabaldon - her latest. Super great.

Have a good one,
Sue

Workout at 5:30 AM

Well, I went to the Y at 5:45 this morning to ride the bike. Wow, that's early. I know if I don't do it then, I won't do it. I think it will be ok once I get used to it. Plus I've adjusted my eating - more little snacks, healthy ones of course, and less lunch at lunch time. Teaching 10 classes in one day is tough no matter how you slice it. However, I made it through my first Monday in one piece. All I have is aching feet and I would have them anyway you slice it.

Now to relax,
Sue

Yoga

I love Yoga. There are so many different types. I like the yoga that strives to connect the spiritual with the physical through mediation, deep breathing, and poses. Yesterday I had a yoga class at the Y. The yoga they have there comes from the tradition of using the physical poses without the connection to the spiritual. That yoga becomes more of an exercise class. Many people like this, but I prefer the more spiritual practice. However, yesterday she led a really tough workout. I am sore... yes, from yoga.

I'm even on a new schedule on Saturdays when I normally do the shopping, etc. Yesterday I added back a couple piano lessons before my shopping, so I ended getting back around 5:30, later than I had been doing in the summer. I guess it's worth it to add the yoga class in there. I had been doing yoga on Fridays. I am going to try to get a blog in there somewhere. I didn't get it in yesterday.

We had salads for dinner. Sometimes we do that. We had a fruit tart dessert, very refreshing. Dorothy Lane Market made it. Today I'm making swordfish. It looked really good yesterday and was on special. I'm going to try to make it to the pool today. This is the second to last weekend and it's certainly warm enough. We need rain desperately. Everything is very dry.

I hope you're having a good weekend,
Sue

Good News

Well, it was a rough first day of school, but today went better. And, I managed to loose .6 pound in spite of new schedule, rising early to work out, and extra stress! It's not much, but it is definitely in the right direction.

It was an absolutely gorgeous day. My air machine is working great. It makes these little cracks when a bigger particle is zapped. I just told the kids that the "bad" stuff in the air is being filtered out.

I had several cute comments. One third grader raised his hand and said, "aren't trailers supposed to be houses?" That still doesn't beat the all time best kid comment about my trailer classroom. He came in and asked "where's the bedroom?" Bob loved that one. We still laugh about it. Another kid today asked why I teach music. I told him it's because I love music and love kids.

And so we made it through the first week. Happy weekend,
Sue

Getting up before dawn to workout

I did better today with eating and my new schedule. The hardest thing to get used to is not being able to do what I like when I like, the openness of the summer schedule I really enjoyed. I also got up for the second day in a row at 5 and went to the Y and worked out. It's rough going before it gets light. Yikes!

Tomorrow is the kids' first day. I'm ready and psyched to meet them.

I'll try to blog tomorrow after the big day,
Sue

New Routine

Yikes, my new routine is tough. I'll get it once everything settles down. We are having conferences today and tomorrow. Hardly anyone makes it out to the trailer though. I had a rough morning. We had a smoothie for breakfast and I was really hungry from 9:30 on.

Hope your week is going well.
Sue

Back to School

Tomorrow is our first teacher day, so my blogging will be different. I promise to try to blog every day, but I don't know when it will be. I have made progress with my room. I have a few things left to do to make it more welcoming. Today I stocked up my little fridge with water. It still remains to be seen how I will schedule bathroom breaks, but this will be done this year. Last year I stopped drinking water, and this didn't work. In fact, I think it makes you more likely to get sick. The air machine is going helping to make the air sweeter, taking care of all the dust, viruses, bacteria, and whatever else is floating around in the trailer.

I am a little nervous about my eating habits at school. I don't want to go back doing what I was doing last year. So wish me luck on my new adventure.

Sue

A Nice Gathering

We had a nice little gathering last night. I made some appetizers from Ina's Back to Basics cookbook. It was a good mix of people and it was fun hearing about Germany and German travels. We haven't really spent too much time in Germany. On the Baldwin trip we took that cruise on the Danube and saw a bit of country from the boat. And we explored Austria a bit going to Vienna and Salzburg. It is always fun listening to people talk about what they love. Otto didn't like the party much though, because his normal routine was disrupted. At one point he got himself stuck in the bedroom between a night-table and the wall. We heard this awful yelping. I rushed in and rescued him. He was fine though. He sure lets us know when there is something he doesn't like! All in all, a good time was had by all.

Now to yoga,
Sue

Top Chefs Cutting Back on Meat

There was an article in this week's Time magazine about how the top (i.e. famous) chefs are starting to serve less meat at their four star restaurants. One said, "I can eat a couple bites of meat and then it gets boring." I had never heard a famous chef say that. I happen to agree. I think the taste of vegies is much more interesting. We are using meat more as a flavoring. The Mediterranean style cooking I've been doing definitely emphasizes vegies over meat. You get your protein from yogurt, cheese, beans, and not so much from meat. I think this is one of the secrets of healthy eating.

Last night we went to Bravos for dinner. I had a wonderful arugula salad and a dish they called Frutti di Mare. It had seafood harvested greenly and the menu bragged about this. It came over fettuccine with a light tomato sauce. It was absolutely delicious and I didn't come away stuffed (my new habit).

We're having a little cocktail party this afternoon with a German theme. I hope the weather stays nice.

Sue

A New Grand Total

Several of our friends made trips to Germany this summer. So we're welcoming them back with a little German cocktail party so everybody gets a chance to practice their German and enjoy some goodies I'm making. We're also serving German beer to the adults and lemonade for the kids and non-drinkers. It's tomorrow at 5 pm. It should be fun.

Now for the good news: trumpet blast..... I lost 2.4 pounds (the one from last week and one for this week plus a little more). And so the scale finally did reward. My grand total since my all time high is exactly 10 pounds. Yippee and hip hip horray!

I just finished my workout and I'm off to the farmers' market and then to my room. I'm also having my hair done today. It needs it.

Erin go bracht!
Sue

Changing Habits

It is very difficult to change your habits, especially under stress. That's what it's about though. It is about changing how you react and not using food as a salve or some kind of emotional band-aid. I am trying to find other things I can do instead of eat. It helps to figure out what I am feeling. Is it pressure from work? Is it sadness? I learned from Tolle's Come into the Now that the first step is to examine what you're feeling. That act brings the feeling from the subconscious to the conscious and therefore brings it to the now. This very much relates to my challenge of emotional eating. I have to examine what I am feeling. Is it just a feeling or am I actually hungry. If I'm actually hungry, I eat something, but I eat something healthy. That's the habit I'm trying to change. I don't want to go into automatic or tread the same path I have always tread when it comes to eating.

I'm going to walk Essi, then go into school and work on my room. All the classroom teachers are having PD today about reading and curriculum. These workshops don't apply to me, so I'm doing my own thing.

Have a good one,
Sue

Cooking Day

Well, actually it was a cooking half day. I made a total of about 12 dinner main courses from four different recipes that used a ground beef/vegie mixture that I made first: Sloppy Joes (2 meals), Stuffed Peppers (4 meals), Chile (6 plus meals and Bob ate it for lunch), and Lazy Lasagna. That last one had you putting the layers together without cooking the pasta (I think that's the lazy part). I doctored the recipes slightly to increase nutrition and add herbs. I love herbs and they are coming in nice now. I don't have dill though but I am harvesting garlic, basil, thyme, oregano, rosemary a plenty. All these recipes came from Frozen Assets. I have frozen all the food and we'll unfreeze it when we need dinner after school starts. I was cooking for 4.5 hours straight. I think it will be worth it when we have good food without much effort later on.

I went to see my nutritionist. She was very congratulatory. She said, "you've been a busy bee this summer and have made some real changes. You've gotten results. Congratulations! I think you should really celebrate!" I joked back at her, "Bob and I need to have a super high calorie dinner." She laughed and said that celebration doesn't always have to be about food. Of course, that's a challenge for me. When I want to celebrate, let's have a special meal. I'm depressed, let's eat. I have always had trouble with emotional eating. I think, though, that I have made real progress this summer toward changing lifetime eating habits. She wanted me to acknowledge that fact and celebrate it. And I am!!!

We have had two gorgeous days yesterday and today. The humidity finally has broken. It is sunny and pleasant. Wow, what a treat!

Today I must go to school to work on my room. Bob and I will go to lunch first though and of course we will have a nutritious but delicious lunch. Ha!

Sue

Marathon Cooking Day Tomorrow

Tomorrow I'm trying the Frozen Assets 2-week cooking day. I have all the ingredients. I'll let you know how it goes.

Today it's a walk with Essi and some gardening. We had a little rain, so the weeds will be easier to pull. I think I'm going to plant some greens to have in the fall.

Stay cool,
Sue

Sometimes the Scale Does Not Reward

Sometimes you can do everything right and the scale does not reward you. Case in point: this week. I worked out hard, I cooked healthy food, I ate correct portions. I did everything right, but the scale did not reward me. I was really irritated when I weighed myself. I try instead, to look at the long term and how much better I feel. I will focus on keeping the course and next week the scale will reflect my hard work. The pound that I really lost this week will come off next week (I hope).


Sue

Blender Soup and Smoothies

Have you ever heard of this? There are three types: tomato based, broth type, and yogurt based. It's designed to be something you can make that tastes good where you don't have to use the stove or oven. You probably have heard of gazpacho. That one is tomato based and the one everybody knows. It is cold soup. You use your blender and basically throw stuff in there until you get a good combination. The yogurt one is creamy, the others are more soupy.

We have been having smoothies for breakfast a couple days a week. This is the same concept, only with yogurt and fruit. Throw in various combinations of blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, peaches, melon, or whatever you have fresh. Be sure to add a banana. Put in a cup of yogurt per person. Use the Greek kind for more protein. I usually use half Greek and half regular. I put in a little vanilla and maybe a teaspoon honey. Blend and add 6-8 ice cubes to make it really cold. Yum! This is for two. You each get a glass and a half of smoothie. It's filling and lasts a couple hours until you're hungry. Good low fat breakfast.

Tell me if you try the blender soup. I think I'm going to try it to use up some vegies we have that I don't want to go bad.

Sue

Increase and Run It

We got an inch of rain yesterday! I was so happy. You could just see the plants perk up and say goodie, goodie.

I just got back from my spin/weights class. I think the woman was trying to kill us today! Wow, but it was a tough workout. My muscles are giggling with fatigue. I think she hit every single muscle group, plus we had difficult cardio with the spinning. "Increase, increase!" she keeps saying. That means increase the tension which in turn makes it more difficult to pedal. Then you hear "run it!" That means pedal faster.

Essi has to go to the vet to get her teeth cleaned. She got to have breakfast, but that's it. She has to go in this afternoon and spend the night. She gets her teeth cleaned tomorrow morning and has to have anesthesia. That always makes me nervous, but Doc is very experienced and know exactly how much to administer to get the job done and no more.

It is still in the mid nineties with humidity the same. The heat index registers at 106-110.

Stay cool if you can,
Sue

To the Mountain Top

I did an extra cycle spin workout this morning because I was so encouraged by the scale. I snuck onto the scale to check and I am in new numbers. You WWers know what that means! I am almost down my pound and it's only five days! I was so psyched that I rushed to the Y and did an extra workout. Bob says when he has a good weigh-in, then he tends to let down a bit and overeat. With me it's the opposite. When I have a good weigh-in, it get me excited to do even better.

I have lost weight many times before. I mean substantial amounts of weight. The first 10 pounds are the hardest because you are working so hard and you haven't seen the benefits yet. After you get 10 off, then the next 10 you start to get on more of a roll. At least I do. I learn what to do. I am making the correct choices most of the time. I am starting to feel better or notice the difference. I hold weight so solidly that it takes quite a bit of loss before there is much of a difference that other people can tell. But I can tell myself. I notice a difference around my waist - just a bit of a difference. I notice a bit easier time being on my feet.

I am starting my preparations for school. Today I meet with a mentor who is going to help me put together my classroom management plan for this year. The goal is to have a system that will help me cope better with 10 classes per day, schedule that would probably challenge Hercules in endurance. I am going to revamp my own system and combine her ideas into it to make a better system. That way I have something left at the end of the day.

I am determined that this year is going to be one of my best years ever! You know what they say, that you can't appreciate the mountain top until you've passed through the valley. I'm heading to the mountain top this year after the deep deep valley of last year. Keep with me, everybody.

Wish me luck,
Sue

Good Recipe

The Mustard-Crusted Salmon I made last night was delicious. If you want it, go to eatingwell.com. It is warm again today. I must work on my resource notebook for school. I'm also going to work on a cover for the porch lounge. I cut out the pieces of fabric yesterday.

Does anybody have any healthy recipes to share? I found a good recipe for refrigerator pickles I'm going to try.

I only have another week of this schedule, then I have to spend a lot time at school getting ready. It's coming up quickly.

Have a good Monday,
Sue

Fridge Busting out all over

The refrigerator and pantry are busting. I had a special 10% off anything coupon at Dorothy Lane, so I stocked up on the items I'll need to have my marathon cooking day next week. I froze the ground meat, on sale. Almost everything I bought yesterday was on sale. Then I go an additional 10% off.

Today we're having Mustard-crusted Salmon with Indiana Succotash (green beans and corn), grilled tomatoes. Yum!

I'm going outside to garden for a bit, maybe to the pool, then back to maybe work on a cushion cover for the porch. Just got back from walking Essi and it's heating up out there. Had to turn the air back on.

Cheerio,
Sue

Comments from My Brother, Bill

These were so good, I had to share them....

"I like to eat just like the other guy. Everyone is going to continue to grow in size as they get older unless they stay active and exercise. To get in real great shape, you have to sweat and raise your heartbeat. They now say that 1/2 hour a day is insufficient to stay in shape - I agree. You would have to exercise at least 1 hour a day, 6 to 7 days a week - most people don't want to do that. I am currently doing 1 - 1 1/2 hours a day 6 or 7 days a week. Several days - maybe as much as 3 hours (climbing days). Eating more meals raises your metabolism. The body does not have time to go into the fasting stage. Depending on how much you eat, you will feel hungry exactly 2 - 3 hours later if you eat 5 meals a day. At the end of the day, you will be hungry but you must only drink water - this will curb your appetite. As you begin to look and feel better, you will not want to screw up what you are doing. I don't want to drink beer or alcohol as it takes at least several days physically to recover (i.e. do as much physically I could do before). Cake or ice cream seems to add a pound or two with every slice or scoop. I avoid it but indulge every once in a while. I love the change in my body and it gets me high. I still eat and enjoy. I love sushi but I eat a small portion. You can do it!! By the way, 1 lb up or down or 5 lbs it nothing. When you have lost 10 lbs and have kept it off for 3 months - your body has changed - not before. I weigh myself every day. I weigh less during the week and weigh the most on Sundays. I weigh myself the same time of the day every day."

I'm hoping more people post comments about what works for them!!!

Bugging You about Weight

This doesn't work. My mother used to bug me (nag me) about loosing weight. "Honey, it just breaks my heart... " blah, blah, blah. This doesn't work. Nobody else can do it. YOU have to decide to loose weight and decide to do it. Nobody else can do it for you. It's YOU that puts the food into your mouth. I know with me that if I want to eat, I'm going to eat, and nobody can stop me. But it's also the same thing in that if I don't want to eat, nobody's going to make me eat it. I'm one stubborn woman! I think one needs this to get healthy with all the temptations floating around.

Now I'm going to walk Essi and it's a lovely morning!
Sue

Down 1, Total of 8.2 since June

I got my pound off. I'm like a turtle, slow steady progress. That's what I want. And I'm never seeing those 8.2 back again! Never, never, ever. I'm hoping for ten by the time I go back to school.

Have you ever seen that commercial for Staples where they sing, "It's the most wonderful time of the year..." and the parents are leaping by pushing the cart with school supplies and all the kids have long faces? It's a funny one. I think the teachers' faces are more like the kids. Just kidding, folks!!!

Sue

Good Day

Nice day today! I had a hoo-haa workout with Jamie (spin and weights). She is one our trainers in the weight room as well. I really feel stronger with the past few weeks. I went to the Farmers Market and got some nice stuff. Yum! I rearranged and replanted a couple pots. Some were looking sad. I had tuna salad bowl at Breakfast Club, our local eatery. I read a chapter of Into the Now by Tolle. I'm trying to spend more time in the present. I think that's why I love gardening and working out so much. They bring you into the NOW, because that's where the enjoyment is. I'm fixing Pasta Carbonara (Eatingwell.com version) for dinner. Good day!

We even got a little rain last night - .4 inch, not much, but the plants sure liked it. Everything looked brighter today.

Have a good one,
Sue

A Sad Day

Today I go to the memorial service for a colleague, Melanie DeBord, from Donovan School. She died over the weekend of cancer. The memorial takes place at 2 pm with a reception to follow. Everything else pales compared with your health. Cancer is a horrible enemy, one that has now taken my mother, my good friend Fran, and many other special people. Melanie was a good person, a dedicated teacher, the mother of two sons. Many people will miss her. Bob has a dental procedure today, so I'll go by myself. I didn't really know her that well, but I pray that she now is at peace joined with her creator.

It is too warm to be outside today. I just got back from walking Essi, and I was wringing wet. Too bad all the moisture in the air as humidity can't fall to the ground to water the plants. They are all desperate.

Sue

Lemon Chicken

This is a little off topic, but does anybody know how to grow David Austin roses? I planted nine last year and none of them thrived. Some died. Usually I do well with most plants.

OK, now for food. We tried another Wendy's salad today. Their salads sure have improved. This one was pretty good. I'm making Lemon Chicken tonight. This recipe reminds of me of Deborah (on Raymond) who supposedly couldn't cook. She made Lemon Chicken that was good and everybody was surprised. Marie (Raymond's mother on the show) was always putting Deborah's housekeeping down. It was a funny show, still is in reruns. We'll see how this recipe is.

I'm still digesting Frozen Assets. So far it looks like she uses very pared down recipes, kind of the food you can get at restaurants, only she makes. It's kind of plain food with not too many ingredients. I guess that's the secret, very simple recipes that you make in multiple servings, freezing to eat that meal again in a few days.

It's hot, hot, hot here and dry, dry, dry.
Keep on cooking healthy meals,
Sue

Frozen Assets, Freezing Ahead

I just got a new book called "Frozen Assets." It's about cooking ahead, cooking several meals of the same kind, and freezing some. She encourages you to cook one day a month and have main course meals ready for the rest of the month. Her cooking day lasts 6 hours, but you have food for an entire month. It's an interesting concept. I think I might try it for two weeks worth of meals. Basically it means that you cook 8 servings instead of 2 and freeze the other 6. She is also into saving money by buying in bulk. It's interesting. I was worried about the dinners once I go back to teaching. Bob was basically cooking during the week last year, and this year I don't think he's going to be able to do this. It's too expensive to eat out, plus you usually eat the wrong things and eat too much too.

I'm going to start on a small scale and maybe cook double servings of some recipes and freeze the additional servings. I'll let you know how it goes.

Bob has been complaining that he hasn't been loosing on this Mediterranean plan (eatingwell.com). I have been loosing. I think the problem is that the food is so good that he goes in and has second helpings. This is why he's not loosing. The portions you eat do make a difference. The breakfasts are less than we have been eating. Also I will only cook twice a day (breakfast and dinner) - I figure that's enough. So we usually pick up lunch somewhere. Have you tried the Subway 6" sandwiches? We get a foot long and share it. It only costs a dollar. Cheapest lunch around and good for diet.

We're headed for another week of nineties. This is tough for the plants since there has been no rain.

Have a good Monday,
Sue