New with the Old Goodies

Don't forget about eatingwell.com It's a great website for healthy eating. I think I'm going to check out their 30 day menu again. It is connected to lots of healthy recipes, some of which I have tried.

It took two days to come down from OMEA - there were so many ideas. If we have another snow day tomorrow I will work on my reports.

Anybody have new get healthy ideas? Please share.

Sue

Freezing Rain and Sleet

Oh boy, we're supposed to get a whopper storm with a "wintery mix." At this rate we'll be going to school until mid june. Yikes!

I finally got a good night's sleep last night and have been digesting my workshops today. Good stuff.

Sue

Fighting Off Another One

Cold, that is. I guess I pushd myself too hard at the conference. I can't go all day with no water or food or rest anymore. I keep forgetting I'm not 21 anymore. Dang it! I can't do what I used to be able to do. Well, let's put it this way. I can do it, but then I pay! It's a bit annoying getting older. I want to be a spring chicken again. I guess that's not possible. But I can feel as good as I possibly can at my age. And THAT's the goal.

Good night all,
Sue

Many Sessions

I went to OMEA for two days. I tried to attend as many sessions as I could. Very interesting couple of days. Lots of good ideas. Fantastic concert by the Cincinnati Symphonic Orchestra with Paavo Jarvi conducting. They really played their hearts out for us. Good professional friends and lots of talking. Not very much eating and this is good! A whole weekend to recover. Didn't get much sleep last night despite the good bed, just too much excitement I guess.

Sue

OMEA

I'm going to OMEA (Ohio Music Educators Conference) for two days to recharge my teacher batteries. I'm looking forward to it. Hopefully I'll come back with some new ideas of stuff to try. It's supposed to snow tomorrow too. I hope they don't have a snow day on Friday because I'll just have to make it up in June.

I'm ready for spring!
Sue

Big Loser or Best Loser

I have found that huge fast weight loss is not the way to go. I think the most I ever lost in one week was 4.5 lbs. I'm not convinced now that it wasn't mostly water. Slow steady is the way to go. I want to KEEP it off, so slow and steady does it. Up at 5:30 again tomorrow morning. I'm back on schedule. I hope you are too.

Sue

Beans and Rice

Good low cal dinner: Basmati rice in the rice steamer, Cantalone beans (the white ones), left over tomato sauce that was tremendous. Warm and serve with some parmesan cheese. It is satisfying, yet good for you. Try it.

Tomorrow the dentist cleaning my teeth. Oh joy!
Sue

Rev UP

OK, let's get back on the the full schedule - 5:30 workouts, healthy snacks and meals. Let's go for it! Choose fruit when you need something to eat.

I had a pleasant 8 hour mini-vacation at a Perennial Plant Seminar in Columbus. I spent the day looking at plant pictures and thinking about sustainable gardening. It was just great. I had lunch at North Market, an open market with meats, produce, and ethnic fare. I had Pad Thai. It was just great. I spoke with some nice folks who care about gardening as much as I do. Fun! It was nice being in Columbus, a really nice place.

Back to work and the schedule. Cold's almost gone. Onward toward health,
Sue

Real Hunger

How do you tell the difference between real hunger and cravings. Check the time since you've eaten and what you last ate. If it's three hours or more, you're probably hungry. If an apple or orange satisfies you, you were hungry. In the new WW program all fruit is 0 points. Interesting idea. I think it would be difficult to gain weight on fruit, so maybe this makes sense.

Oh, by the way, I'm hungry right now. It's time for dinner soon.

Sue

Thoughts on Cheap Food and Couches

We've got another snow day today. We're supposed to 4-6 inches.

Here's a thought for you. I can remember when I was a little when there were very few fast food restaurants. Now they are on every corner with people lined up going through getting that food that's cheap, full of fat and sugar, and huge in portions. I think this development more than any other single thing, is responsible for our obesity in this country. That and our jobs that include no activity. A lot of people in offices just sit all day. And then they go home and sit some more in front of the TVs and computers. Yikes!!!! This is not me, of course. I am perfect in every way... NOT! I crave the fatty salty food and couch as much as the next person. It's take real will power to do otherwise.

Sue

Nasty Cold

I have one, so far in my head or should I say sinus. Ugh! I'm using my netipot. Long day at school with lessons at the end. Tuesday is always rough. Tomorrow is early release and have to do grades. More snow is coming. Bring it on! To bed now,
Sue

Sinus

The netipot is the thing. If you don't know about it, get one. It looks like a little tea pot, only it's for cleaning your sinus.

Back to school tomorrow,
Sue

Homecoming

As Dorothy says, there's no place like home, no matter where it is. Slept in. Fed Essi. Had breakfast and a nice cup of coffee. Cleaned up a little. Working on the computer. Next is a shower. I'm going to the Antique Show in town for a look. First though I'm going to plow through a pile or two on my desk, something I always dread.

Happy MLK tomorrow,
Sue

Cure for the Blues

Got to work on the pleasure basket and put some nice things in there. Here are some (with help from Martha Stewart magazine, because Martha knows.... ?) Some are mine.

Curl up with that book you've been meaning to read.
Put some oils or bubble bath in a tub and take a nice soak. (They say this isn't too great for your skin in the winter, but it feels so good)
Pot up some spring bulbs or a amaryllis. I have one blooming right now that a friend gave me for Christmas. It sure is pretty.
Stretch out your neck. Gently tilt your head right, left, and to your chest and hold a few seconds. Good after working at your desk on the computer. Good for tension too.
Eat a banana or other potassium rich food (baked potato, beans, greens). Helps your body flush out excess sodium.
Take a walk in the snow. Dress warm.
Wash your hands. Keep the suds on at least 20 seconds DON'T use antibacterial soap. It kills the good bacteria too.
Call up a friend you haven't seen in a while, not an acquaintance, a friend.
Watch a good tear-jerker movie, gets it out!
Figure out your next vacation. Do some research and just think about those sunny beaches (Yes, you guessed where I'd like to go)
Get some extra sleep. Whenever I feel overwhelmed I go to sleep. Always helps.
Play with your dog. Essi has brought me her toys all day. She is so cute. I love her so. Oh, and get those doggie kisses.
Have red wine and chocolate. OK, I know this is a controversial one.
Play the piano FOR FUN, not something you have to practice, but something just for fun.

Any others????
Sue

Blue

I am feeling kind of blue.

Sue

Knocking around

It's hard knocking around this house with only Essi to talk to. Second snow day in a row. I was productive, but I started getting cabin fever this afternoon. I had to get out of here for a bit. I don't have too much to say today. I did go down in the basement and ride my exercise bike hooked up down there and put all the Christmas boxes back in the closet neatly.

Hope you all had a nice day,
Sue

Snow to the Roof

It's still snowing. We had a snow day today. It can snow all the way up to the roof of the house, as far as I'm concerned. I spent the entire day on the computer working on projects I had put on the back burner. I still haven't cleaned my office. It looks like a tornado went through here. Maybe we'll get another snow day and I can work on straightening up. I'm getting cabin fever and it's only been one day. Our neighbor used the snow blower on the driveway, but it's filling up again.

I was going to cook some soup today, didn't get to that. Oh well. I'll have something else from the refrigerator. Eat lightly now.

Here's to SNOW!!!!!
Sue

Fresh Herbs

We can get them all year round now. Always use parsley (I like Italian, better flavor), basil, and rosemary. I got a little rosemary plant a few weeks ago. So far it's doing good in my east window. They are difficult to overwinter. Parsley is plentiful at Dorothy Lane Market. You can usually find basil too. They sell coriander too. Herbs are great for you with antioxidants galore and they really improve the taste of many dishes.

Tough day because I did not sleep well and had a couple hours of driving before my usual tough Monday. But I made it. We're supposed to get snow overnight and up to 5 inches tomorrow. We probably won't have school, but we'll see.

I exhausted and am going to bed.
Sue

NAMM

NAMM is this week. We're both kind of not looking forward to it. Nice weekend though. Decorations all away. Nice together time with Essi and good dinners. I cooked. I have leftovers for tomorrow which is good.

And I hear a trip to Brazil is in the offing. Bon voyage to all travelers. We'll hold the homefront until you return.

Sue

Great Movies

We got behind a bit in our Netflix and got two Christmas movies a bit late. Both were fantastic. One was called Joyeux Noel, a movie about a true Christmas Eve during WWI where French, Scottish, and German soldiers celebrated Christmas together across the battlefield. It's in English, French and German and you have to read subtitles some of the time. Excellent movie and worth watching any time of the year. The other one was called Christmas Story. It's made in Finland and is the story of Nicholas, aka Santa Claus from the time he's a boy to adulthood, filmed in Lapland with all the snow, reindeer, and gorgeous views of Lapland. It was dubbed in English, but we also watched a little film about how they made it. Really great movie, really worth watching. I think they both might join our favorites.

The snow stopped in the night and so we just got an inch or so. I still had to play ride 'em cowboy to get up the driveway. Well... you have to take a running start to make it up. Yeee-ha!

Ah snow, ain't fun?
Sue

Losing Contest

It started snowing this afternoon and it's still going. Tough week. Long day. Glad this is week is over. Some fun moments came with the third graders learning to vibrate their lips for their paper towel roll didgeridoos. They just loved it. I'm sure their teachers loved hearing the lips for the rest of the day - ha!

I got back in the groove with the early morning workouts. But we need to cut out those desserts during the week. They affect the weigh-in. We are starting a losing contest at school though. I'm on a 4 person team with 2 men and 2 women (I'm one). We'll see how that goes. Anything for some new motivation.

Hey, Brazil sounds nice. Warm and sunny with nice walks on the beach. In my dreams,
Sue

Renewing the Basics

Here are some hints from USAToday and Eatingwell.com

Have about 350 calories for each meal and 3 snacks of about 200 cals each.
Eat whole grains, not refined flour or sugar.
Drink your water.
Use plenty of spices and herbs and less salt.
Grill instead of fry.
Use lemon for zest (use the zest too).
Choose fresh vegies, make them organic for more flavor.
Make sure you get 30 minutes of exercise per day; you must sweat.
Eat beans at least 3 times a week.
No high fructose sugar (it's incidious; check the ingrediant list - they add it to everything.
Pet your dog for stress.
Add to your pleasure basket - non food items, please.
Make some hearty soups (without the cream) and eat all you want.
Go for a walk in the snow.

Tough week this week, lots of stress with house and work. Everything's ok and it's silly to worry.

Cheers,
Sue

Beans

Was that ever difficult getting up this morning! That 5:30 comes fast. Buckeyes are playing tonight. The game didn't start until 8:30. What a ripoff. I saw the frist two touch downs, but I got to go to bed to get my beauty rest. It looks like it might be a good game.

Interesting statistic. Did you know that having beans at least 3 times a week lowers your risk of heart disease by 28 percent? It's proven by research, Beans, beans, the musical fruit!

Sue

First Day Back

It was a good day. All the kids except for one class were good. They love to share with me, and I also love this. We don't get very much time for this, but I enjoy it too. We have to keep on target with lessons, but lining up and greeting them at the beginning I get to hear about their worlds. They are so worth it. Our future is right there in front of me. Wow!

Back on eating well too. Good lunch of salad, regular snacks. Bob is fixing dinner. Tomorrow I'm up at 5:30. Today I got up at 6:30. We have been sleeping in until 7 or 7:30, so it's a shock to go back to early rising.

Here is my sweetie with her bone. Tried to get image, but it just spun.

Have a good evening,
Sue

Happy New Year

Now for all those new year's resolutions. I plan to stay the course, keep going on my path to healthy eating and weight. Hopefully this will mean that I will lose weight (got it spelled correctly this time - ha) and my feet will feel better. I have all sorts of plans for school and professional training too. It's going to be a good year, welcome 2011!

Sue