Old Dog New Tricks

I just got a heck of a foot cramp. My right toe was standing straight up and I couldn't relax it. Now I'm soaking my feet in this little machine with bubbling water.

I am curious to see if I get my pound this week. I am suspicious that the bacon I had on Sunday will wreck up my loss. We shall see.

New habits are difficult to establish, but not impossible. You know the saying that you can't teach an old dog new tricks. This is not true if the old dog really wants to learn some.

The week is now over half over. I was looking at my planner and I had already had subs in for me last year and the year before. This year, no subs yet. This is good. My air machine is working very well. I have cleaned it once and it's now zapping up some more bad stuff from the air. I know the air is better in my room. I am pleased. It is an Oreck. So far so good!

I was trying to eat a tomato like an apple today for lunch and a bunch of seeds and tomato juice gooped all over my shirt. So much for my professional attire!

And on that note, I'm to bed.
Sue

Meat as a Flavoring

My Dad sent me a book about what foods are good for losing weight. The point of the book is that it says you should have 5-6 servings complex carbs, 3 servings protein, 5-8 vegies and fruits, 3 servings fat (one teaspoon is a serving). A serving of protein is one ounce. A serving of carbs is 1/2 cup. So this book basicially agrees with the Eatingwell.com diet plan that meat is a flavoring and not the center of the meal. It is contrary to the way most Americans eat and contrary to the way I was raised. My Dad does not eat this way either, but probably found the book and sent it to me because he thinks I need to lose weight. It did not contain any information I did know. Most of the book is a listing of whole grains, vegies, and fruits and why they're good for you. I'll share more if it's interesting.

My left heal, the underside, has been bothering me. Oh goodie, a heel spur. Just what I need - something else hurting on my feet. However, my Burkenstocks shoes help. They are shoes made in Germany. They're kind of ugly, but feel wonderful. They're also expensive. I had a pair at school I was using to switch off. My heel was really hurting and I switched over to them. Fortunately they felt better. They have a formed bottom with good arch support and a cupped heal. They're purple, so my kids always notice them when I wear them.

It was very difficult to get up this morning with a nice rain going. But I did it.
We had chile for dinner. It was good.

Sue

Finally... Rain

We finally had more than a sprinkle today, maybe 1/2. This is the first in 3 months.

My nutritionist, L, says to have a pleasure basket in which you put some things that "feed" non-food related of course. Stuff like a good book you've been wanting to read, some lotion that smells good, your joy list. She says to actually write it down and put it in there. When you need a lift, get something out and treat yourself.

My dad sent me a book on foods that help you loose weight. I don't think he follows the advice in there, but then again he's 86 and still moving pretty good.

To bed now,
Sue

Special Breakfast Treat

We had bacon for breakfast this morning. Did it ever taste good. We hadn't had it in quite a while. My favorite breakfast of all time is blueberry pancakes with maple syrup, soft scrambled eggs, and crisp bacon with fruit and good coffee. Yum yum. This breakfast has too many calories to have often, so it's only for a special treat.

I went to a fabulous daylong series of workshops yesterday at Miami University at Oxford, about an hour away from here. It was an Orff workshop with lots of participation. I was tired when I got home. I watched one of my favorite movies, Julia and Julie, based on a true story about a young woman cooking her way through Julia Child's cookbook AND Julia Child's story of when she wrote the cookbook and got it published. It is a feel good movie all the way. It was also my inspiration for starting this blog (Julie starts a blog about her experience). Meryl Streep channels Julia Child. Wonderful movie. I like it so much I've watched it at least half a dozen times.

Still no rain. All plants including trees, bushes, and perennials are really suffering. It makes me feel bad. It will be interesting to see what comes back. I am betting we loose quite a few plants. It's time for dormancy now and will be difficult for the plants to take up water now even if we do get some rain. To my memory we have never in my lifetime had a summer such as this where we got absolutely no rain for three solid months.

Hope your Sunday is going well,
Sue

More "Good" News from the Paper

I was reading in the USA Today that America has one of the highest percentages of very overweight people in the developed world. I think it was over 30%. The thing is that the paper doesn't emphasize enough what Americans have to do about this. I think some laws governing the fast food industry would help. I think people should have to pay more for burgers, fries, and cokes. If salads were as cheap as hamburgers, more people would choose them. Maybe I'm dreaming. It is true that once refined sugar and flour are out of your system, you don't crave them as much. Healthy foods take longer to eat. There are tricks that should be publicized more like drink a glass of water before dinner. Eat your salads and vegies first. Always serve vegies and fruits at every meal and make them the central part of the meal instead of meat. Move more. Park farther away and walk more. Turn off the TV and do something active. Get together with some friends and try a new exercise. Walk your dog every day (they love it and it's good exercise). Sleep more. Shop the outside of the supermarket and refuse to buy anything premade or precooked. Down with convenience food! There's a million other things that can be done. Add your favorites and comment!

I get tired of reading and hearing how fat we are without more people with power doing something about it. I guess each person needs to do what he or she can do and make those small choices daily toward better health.

Celery with hummus - yum!
Sue

Down Another

I'm down another pound. I guess that makes over 14 if anybody's keeping track.

It's looking like rain and not doing it, the unfortunate new norm around here.

I've got a workshop tomorrow. I hate to give up my Saturday, but they are alway good. TGIF!

Sue

A Nice Noticing

Sometimes you work so hard toward something and the steps are so small that it's difficult to see the progress. Today a staff member said to me, "it looks like you're thinner." Halleluia, someone noticed. She is also someone who has struggled and continues to work at keeping the weight off. She told me she had an operation about 4 years ago. She lost the weight, but then started to gain it back even with her smaller stomach. That goes to show you that one must change habits to KEEP the weight off, no matter how one looses it. I keep repeating the mantra, small changes for the long term.

Sue

Lunch that Works for Me

Well, the hardest two are done. Not the rest of the week is easy, mind you. I've done two early morning workouts too and will workout tomorrow and Thursday. We had one of my frozen meals this evening. It was the chile. Not bad. Chile always tastes better the more you cook it.

For lunch I have been having the Kroger small salads that come with everything, even some dressing. The greens are mostly romaine and come with various things to put on top, like a bit of chicken, cheese, or chopped up vegies. They are pretty good, about 300 calories. I always bring some other vegies to have with it, like cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, or squash, for example. I also have a few pretzels or whole grain chips with a couple nuts and a fruit. I usually walk down to the cafeteria and get a milk. This lunch holds me pretty well. I also put my feet up on my desk for about 20 minutes. This really helps me get through the afternoon.

Afternoon snack is an apple and a piece of string cheese, at least since school started. I don't usually want it, but feel drained at the end of the day. Water and this snacks helps revive me. Although on Mondays and Tuesdays, I am pretty much done for the day. On Tuesday I have a couple piano lessons too.

Cheers to the middle of the week,
Sue

My Feet

I unfortunately have arthritis in my feet. It comes as a result of ten years of long distance running (that I loved) and treatment of various foot conditions such as Morton's Neuroma and Bone spurs by steriods, tapings, orthotics, and operations. I have had 5 operations on my feet. It was the best known treatment at the time, but now is not done due to the long term consequences of the surgeries that I now have. My arthritis is something that I have been told by quite a few doctors that I have to live with. I almost wish it were diabetes, because this could be treated. I haven't given up on improving or solving my feet pain. Losing weight has to help, and it certainly helps the rest of me. I wear orthotics in my shoes and have for more than 20 years. It might be time to see if the orthotics need to be changed.

I am having a day of rest today, because a week of teaching is coming up fast.

Happy second to last day of summer. No rain yet and the temps are supposed to sore into the 90s again this week. What in the world is going on?

Happy Sunday,
Sue

Nice Day

We went to the OSU game against OU. Nice drive to Columbus. Good breakfast, one of the best ever in history. Little bits of all my breakfast favorites. LOOOOOONG walk to stadium. We hadn't been in the new enlarged shoe. Wow. It's gorgeous. We sat in the sun, but everybody was. Neat to watch the real thing instead of TV. We hadn't been to a game in 15 years. Yikes! Nice way to celebrate our 25th anniversary this week, although we're going to celebrate it later this fall by a nice weekend away. Good late lunch at a place at Lane Ave shopping center. Columbus and OSU looked good to us. Very nice. The only disappointment were my feet which hurt with all the walking. It bums me out because the rest of me feels so good. I think I might have to do something, like go to a foot doctor again. Nice drive back. Very nice fun day with my husband. We both enjoyed it.

To bed now,
Sue

Go Buckeyes

I won a lottery for two Buckeye tickets today to tomorrow's game against Ohio U. We're going up for the game. This will be the first time in quite a few years. We used to go all the time when I got seasons tickets as a OSU staff member. So, a nice surprise.

We had a nice dinner at Bravos tonight. And I did manage to loose 1/2 pound this week. It's the Zumba that helped.

Will check in tomorrow,
Sue

Zumba

I tried Zumba this afternoon. One of our teachers organized a zumba session for any teachers who were up to try it. It was really fun! The leader was excellent. She is one of our parents (she has a third grade daughter at Donovan). I really enjoyed the dancing and the good vibes. Everybody was having fun and letting their hair down. Super terrific.

I read in the paper yesterday that only 1/4 of Americans eat 3 servings of vegies or more a day and only 1/3 eat 2 fruits. What is it that Americans eat? It's no wonder there are so many overweight people. I found this kind of shocking. A lot of us are very unhealthy.

It's almost Friday. TGIF. And weigh-in tomorrow morning.
Sue

Over the hump

OK, my two hardest days are over. The kids were very talky today. You haven't lived until you've heard 4th graders play the recorder for the first time. Eek!

I am BEAT! We're having lazy lazagna for dinner. Until tomorrow,
Sue

Noticing

I just saw the space station go over our house. It was a very bright star moving northwest to southeast fairly quickly. I saw the shuttle fly over once and this moved slower than that. I noticed it because it was very bright and then noticed it was moving. It was a total accident. Kind of a nice treat after a particularly tough day.

Tomorrow is a very special day.

Have a good one,
Sue

Good Dinner

I fixed salmon, mashed potatoes, salad, and apple crisp for dinner. It was good! I served one serving only. That's a change. No seconds. The crisp was especially good. I used local macintosh apples with lemon peel and lemon juice, some sugar, vanilla. The topping I had left over from last week's peach crisp. I made the crisp topping, used only half, and had enough for the apples this week. The topping had the oatmeal and walnuts in it. Yum.

I was thinking about 9/11 yesterday, just remembering. The day is crystal clear in my memory. I guess it is in everybody's. It was a crystal clear Tuesday that day too.

I did some weeding today. It is so dry that even the weeds are suffering. Now that's saying something. We didn't get any rain yesterday despite the prediction of 60 percent chance. It was a gorgeous day today. We walked Essi, then I had a makeup piano lesson. Then Bob helped me by bringing my weeds to the compost pile. He also cut up some kindling for the someday fires in the fireplace. It has to get cooler sometime. He turned the compost pile. Yeah! It was a nice day for working outside. Enjoyable, except for my feet which were hurting. I have a new spot on the bottom of my left foot that's bothering me, as in bone spur issue. I hope it goes away. I think this particular pain will. My cold is almost gone.

Tomorrow and Tuesday are my hardest days. I'm going to hand out recorders. So wish me luck,
Sue

Otto, special bonus blog

Oh, the glories of an older dog! Otto, our curmudgeon, is 19, going on 20. He has to go out once an hour and sometimes makes statement wees on the floor or rug. He loves Bob. He loves eating, especially breakfast. He still barks for it. You should see the hog's mess I give him for breakfast. It takes him a while, but he eats every bite. Essi cleans his dish for him when he's finished. He loves water. We let him have all he wants for breakfast and lunch, but then not after that. He can still make it the whole night. He doesn't like to be put anywhere. Even blind, he likes to twirl until the position is right. If you try to move him when he's sleeping, he growls big time. When he's carried out to wee he and Essi have a bark fest. He loves pasta and tidbits when available. His back legs don't work that well anymore, so this makes walking on the kitchen tiles difficult. He still moves around pretty well on the rug and outside. Sometimes he looses his balance and falls over, but just gets back up again. He still gets a lot of joy out of life. We think there are life lessons to be learned from him - live now, don't let your aches get you down, and get back up when you fall over.

We love him!

Sue

26-17 and Dorothy Lane

It's half-time. OSU is beating Miami. It's a good game with scoring, the kind I like. The talking heads are on. I hate those. I wish they would show the bands. That's what I want to see, not these men talking endlessly about every game going on in the entire country with this stupid screaming guitar music. Do people really like this? I don't!

We STILL aren't getting rain. It is SOOOOOO maddening. It rained in Springboro, just a couple miles from here. It's raining in Columbus. Argh!

I went to Dorothy Lane Market and spent too much on groceries like I always do. I love shopping there. They have good organic produce and good meats without growth hormones and greenly raised. They have good choice of the best imported goods, like pasta from Italy - whatever you want. My shopping cart contains about 90% organic/local/green food. They sell local produce when they can get it. I bought local apples today, also local cheese. Plus, it's pleasant there with live piano music and plenty of help when you need it. Then somebody always helps you to your car and loads your groceries for you. I love Dorothy Lane. I should do a commencial for them.

Cheers,
Sue

Another 1.2

Yes, it's true! Down another 1.2. That makes a grand total from my highest of an even 13 pounds down! I think I am even starting to notice. We had picture day today and I wore a pink sweater set I hadn't worn in a while. I got quite a few complements. Some people notice I look better, but they haven't quite picked up that it's weight. Whatever it is, it's nice to get a couple complements.

It was a rewarding day. I especially enjoyed the look on a little girl's face when she got to be "a lady." We were dancing and they had partners of the opposite if you know what I mean. I told them that they were acting like ladies and gentlemen. If you could have seen this little girl's face when she got to dance with a boy (and the cute, not sure he liked it look on his face). Well... it was priceless. Fourth graders are a good age.

Have a great weekend. I am to bed to get some sleep. My eye lids are very heavy.
Sue

Winning the Cold War

I'm winning the cold war. I had extra sleep last night. Good thing because yesterday I was EXHAUSTED. I fell asleep in front of the TV after dinner. Yikes!

It was a good day. Except for hurting feet I feel pretty good. I was dancing all day. I was teaching them an Israeli folk dance. The boys don't want to hold the girls' hands. I convinced them. They really like the dance, so it's worth it when you have to hold a girl's hand - ewwww!

Now for a nice evening. Just had a makeup lesson. Tomorrow is TGIF and pictures.

Sue

Snacks and Water

Frequent snacks and plenty of water are the key. Those are my words of wisdom for today. It was a tough one. I'm still fighting my cold. I'm winning, but my nose is sore. But the water and snacks help.

We got quite a bit of thunder, but about 30 seconds of rain. ARGH!!!! But as they say, it's no use fretting about it, since there's not a thing I can do about this.

So to bed with me for plenty of sleep. Oh, by the way, I heard on the news today that they think one cause of obesity in kids in not enough sleep. THAT makes one think.

Sue

Peaceful Backyard

It's very peaceful here in our backyard. I am sitting on our screened in porch watching the birdbath show. There are 11 birds on the birdbath drinking or bathing. I just filled it up. Since it is so dry this is the only place where there is water they can use. They are all enjoying it together. One has to chuckle. I've never seen six taking a bath at the same time. I guess English sparrows aren't plentiful for nothing.

I finished my big book today. It was really good. I always feel a little sad when I finish a really great book. I don't want it to end. This one was Diana Gabaldon's latest and weighed in at about 1000 pages. I enjoyed every page of it too. This is the seventh book in a series about Jamie, Claire, Brianna, Roger, Ian, William, and Lord John. Those are the main characters, but there are many many others. I had the privilege of hearing the author speak once when she came to a bookstore in Dayton. It was fascinating to hear her talk about how she writes and hear her answer questions from the crowd that were there. I went with a friend who also is a fan. When I finished the book today, I called that friend on the phone. She lives in Oregon now. She moved out there to be near her kids and grandkids. She's originally from around here. I really miss her.

Our neighbors were having a wing ding last night that didn't quiet down until midnight. They kept me up, so we slept in. Tomorrow will be a shock to get up at 5:30 to workout. I wanted to go ride the bike today, but the Y was closed. So I played in the yard instead. I was trying to plant some mums and it was like trying to dig through bricks, the soil is so dry. I had to water a mud hole and then dig a place for the plant.

Happy Labor Day,
Sue

New Recipes

Last week we have been eating the frozen meals that I made a couple weeks ago. They all turned out very well, except the lazy lasagna. It apparently was a little too lazy and came out more like soup. It tasted good though. Next time I will use different cheeses and thicker tomato sauce. Sometimes you have to tweak recipes to get them right. The Eatingwell.com recipes have all turned out well. We're trying another new one tonight called Cuban-Style Pork and Rice. I'm making Peach Crisp for dessert. I use a recipe that calls for oatmeal (steel cut - hee, hee) on top with some sugar. It's really good. I tried it earlier in the summer. This is an Ina Garten recipe. She is the Barefoot Contessa and has a TV show. I think I've mentioned her before and about how I love to watch her cook. I think I've learned a lot about flavor listening to her show. She also has taught me a lot about using herbs to make food more flavorful.

Now I'm going outside to play in the dry dirt a bit. I got some mums to put in if I can manage to dig a hole.

No school tomorrow because of Labor Day. Nice!
Sue

Fighting off

I'm fighting off kid germs. I can tell. I am so healthy I know I'm going to fight them off. Everything has been going well. My air machine really makes the air nice inside my trailer. It's kind of funny how it makes a little snap when the kids are in there. I told them that all the bad stuff is being sucked away to make the air better. They are starting to ignore it. We had a good week, but Friday afternoon I had to write a couple names in my book for strike one. I guess they're testing out my new system. I have a really great bunch of kids though.

I'm watering through the soakers just enough to keep the plants alive. Everything has really be suffering. I use soakers so that every drop goes where I want it and not into the air. It turned cool, but still no moisture. This is unbelievable. Hey, does anybody know any rain dances? If so, dance some rain here in sw Ohio.

I'm nominating my dad for the Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award. It's for safe flying for over 50 years. He certainly does qualify! He sent me a nice summary of his flying - some of it I didn't know. Pretty neat. I must call everybody today to check in. Cassie went off to college, so my sister and her husband are empty nesters. I'm sure this is a big shock.

Have a good holiday weekend,
Sue

Great Movie

If you've never seen Julie and Julia, you have to rent it. It's fantastic, very uplifting and sweet. Just the kind of movie I like. I'm really tired tonight. I woke up at 4 this morning, went to the bathroom, and couldn't go back to sleep. So, I'm going to bed right now, read a little while, and hopefully go to sleep.

We did not get any rain. Our poor plants and yard are desperate. Yikes! We're 5 inches behind normal. We've got huge cracks in the ground. Even bushes and trees are struggling now. I wish we could get an inch or two from Earl here in sw Ohio.

Nighty night,

Half-time

The Buckeyes have a big lead against Marshall. I'm a stinky fan, because I'm going to bed. Bob's going to stay up and watch.

Good news, though! I got on the scales this morning and I lost 1.5 this week!!!! Not bad for the first full week of school. I'm sleeping in to 6 am tomorrow morning! And we have a long weekend ahead. Needless to say, I am pleased to be going down with the new schedule and all.

Now to my good book for a bit and then sleep.
Sue

PS I'm worried about Earl hitting Rehoboth. I hope it's not too bad.

Getting Used to my new schedule

It's going pretty well. Today was a slightly shorter day for because we had early release schedule. I have my snack for right after school when I have low blood sugar and am tired. This works pretty well to get me home. Today I even played with Essi and went outside to water some plants with Essi. She likes to be with me. You should hear the pathetic cries of joy when I come in. What a greeting! She likes to play with her binkie (her toy) that I throw and she brings it back. And I DID get up at 5:30 to go to the Y. Yeah me! I rode the bike this morning. I am curious to see what the scale will say Friday. Did I loose my pound? I wonder. I hope so. I am very hungry now and am going in. Bob cooking dinner. I think it's pasta d'aleo (pasta with lots of garlic and olive oil). You have to put on parmesan cheese too. Plus we still have fresh tomatoes that I love. Sorbet for dessert. This works well too.

until tomorrow,
Sue