Supplements

We take a multi vitamin, Norwegian fish oil, CoQ10, Calcium with Magnesium and vitamin D (just me), generic statin (me), Singular (me), Advair (inhaler disk two times daily), CLA (for metabolism), Cod liver oil (B), Flax seed ground on cereal, Calm (magnesium at night in water), Aleve (me for my feet). Sometimes we take extra vitamin C. We are trying to get omega 3s and keep the metabolism up.

What do you take?

Sue

Pretty Day

I got lots of yard time in today. It was very warm - almost 90, but it felt so good to be outside in the sunshine.

Only four more days to the end of school. We are all ready.

Sue

Memorial Day

We watched the annual Memorial Day concert on PBS that's broadcast live from the Capital. I think it's a good thing to think a bit about the sacrifices of so many. And I am also thinking about my Mother who died a year ago and missing her very much. She was the person who kept the news about everybody, who kind of balanced everybody's temperments. It's difficult to figure out the dynamics now.

It was sunny and warm today. I took Essi for a nice walk and worked in the yard some. And we should have another day tomorrow. Hope your weekend's going well.

Sue

One Year Ago

Well, it's been a year since my Mother's funeral. I have been thinking a lot about her and still miss her a lot. She always knew about everybody else in our lives and kept up with the news. There is nobody like that left. None of us keep up with all the old friends and relatives like she did.

We got some sun today finally. Essi and I went for a nice walk. I hope I can get into the beds tomorrow. I got some fish emulsion to try to save my poor beat up tomato plants (from the hail we had). I hope it works, but they look pretty sad.

Happy long weekend,
Sue

Gatspatcho

I love it. It's a great springtime summertime treat. It's all veggies. It's crunchy with a bit of bite. We had a nice dinner tonight at Bravos. The food was very good, service a bit fast, but it's better that than cold food.

Looking forward to gardening this long weekend. Hey, it only drizzled a bit this morning, but no sun. We're lucky the rain held off for our field day complete with tug of war.

I lost .8 lb this week, so that's something. I can't wait to start my regular heavy duty workouts when school's out. But I must have a tooth pulled - it can't be saved ... ugh!

Here's to the long weekend,
Sue

Good Eating Week

Well, we had a good eating week. I am curious to see what the scale says tomorrow morning. Tomorrow we have Field Day, a day of games outside. I am helping out in the gym with a hula-hoop game. Pass the hula-hoop around the circle without dropping hands.

I plan to do good workouts this weekend with hopefully some yard work. But it's still raining. It rains every single day, sometimes a lot. It's like the tropics. We had a couple of thunderstorm during school today. You should hear the rain on the roof of the trailer. It's loud.

Have a good Memorial Day weekend,
Sue

such a picky eater

Summer has arrived with the humidity. Eek! Now if we could get some sun too, that would be nice. We need to dry out a bit.

There was a lunch for our volunteers today. It was nice to get something different for lunch. There were some nice salads and chicken. There was a WW person there counting up her points. I think it works better to divide your plate into fourths: 1/4 protein, 1/4 starch/carbs, and 1/4 veggies. She had a big piece of chicken and hardly anything else. And guess was she let her daughter eat? Potato chips! I was aghast. And she made some comment like, "she's such a picky eater..." Right... Kids should be encouraged to eat properly and not permitted to just eat chips. Her daughter is headed for weight issues when she gets older. Enough soap box for one evening, but I do think if I ate healthier when I was growing up it would have helped now. My mother studied nutrition in Home Economics, but it was not the nutrition of health. She actually grew up eating healthier than I did. She always stated that they were poor and didn't eat much meat and ate from their garden. This is actually the healthier way to eat rather than to have so much meat and canned veggies and desserts.

Sue

Colored Food

Colored food is supposed to be good for your brain: blueberries, strawberries, carrots, radishes, lentils... anything that is not white is very good for your brain. The fruits themselves provide Omega 3s but the actual color signifies benefit for your brain and well being. Berries are coming into season - get some local berries and eat hardy.

Still raining. We had some afternoon sun, but it's thundering and raining again. My trailer is sitting in a swamp that never dries out.

Sweet dreams,
Sue

Walking Is Good

Essi and I had a nice walk today. It was warm and pleasant. I got a small bit of yard work done before these violent thunderstorms came over with heavy rain and hail. The hail was marble sized and bouncing off the roof with the rain. The cells went right over our house. Essi was scared of the noise and shaking.

I am sad the weekend is over. Tomorrow is the last Monday because we don't have school on Memorial Day, the next Monday. Only two more weeks. I wish it were over now.

Sue

Weeding

I actually got to do some weeding today. Well, halleluia!. The sun stayed out and it was warm too. I took Essi for a walk after breakfast. It was nice to be outside enjoying the sunshine.

As it turns out, I guess I'm going to Rehoboth for a few days. My dad paid for a condo and offered it to me. So I'm going. I love Rehoboth. I love being next to the ocean to sleep.

I hope you had a nice day out east and west too,
Sue

Sun!

Yeah! The sun came out today. It was a lovely day. TGIF and horray for the weekend. I have iris in bloom - my favorites with the heirloom roses and sweet rocket - very pretty.

Happy weekend,
Sue

Burning the Right Fat

My nutritionist says to burn the right fat, you must keep your metabolism stoked by eating small meals and snacks. You should eat every 2-3 hours. You need to choose whole grains for the carbs, at least 5-6 servings of veggies a day, 2-3 servings of fruit, healthy fats (like olive oil and avocado), good protein (including several servings of fish per week, chicken, beans, and not much red meat). You need to exercise to keep the metabolism up too. Anything the encourages the gain and lose effect, known as yo-yoing is not good. She also stresses changing habits for life, small changes for life. Losing 1-2 pounds a week allows your body to adjust and helps you not gain it back. Looking long term is her way to go.

Tomorrow is Friday - it's still cold and cloudy with drizzle. I'm ready for the weather to change WE NEED SUN!

Good night,
Sue

More Veggies

We're trying to have more veggies this week. To save time and from having to cut them up, I got some precut vegies from Dorothy Lane Market that they cut up. We had them tonight with rice and beans. They really added a lot of flavor. We might have even had our 6 recommended servings of veggies today.

It's still raining here - can you believe it? It's serious because the farmers can't get their crops in due to the wet ground. Bummer.

I've been recording Dr. Oz's TV show. It's pretty hokey, almost like a game show in format. I find his website much more valuable.

Sue

Planning the Menu

Happy Tuesday. I can't think of anything brilliant to say today. We did plan out our menus on Sunday. That's working so far. I've been working out again. Yeah. Getting up tomorrow morning to do bike.

I read about the diet. I don't like that there's no breakfast. It's a very low calorie diet, looks about 800 calories per day to me. No wonder you lose so much weight. I'm going to study it some more.

Have some good sleep,
Sue

Healthy Day

Cold and wet again today. Good day of eating healthily. Bob cooked a good dinner with chicken, yummy local asparagus, couscous, and tomatoes with a little yogurt for dessert.

The kids have one dynamic level these days: LOUD, LOUDER, and EAR SPLITTING. I don't know how they don't all lose their hearing with how loud they talk to each other. Only 13 more school days left!!!

I have some gorgeous iris blooming now. I picked a huge bunch of flowers yesterday to bring inside. My mini pond is doing great. It's really pretty and I love the sound at night.

Sue

New Salads and a Loss

Try black rice, soba noodles with soy beans, spinach with wheat berries and orzo.

We were mourning the loss of a local sheriff who lost his life in the line of duty this week and left behind a wife and three little children. So sad and senseless. He was buried in the Lebanon Cemetery today. There was a procession of over a 100 police cars from all over the state.

My sweet rockets and iris are blooming.

Sue

TGIF

Phew! Glad that week's over. The kids were like little tornadoes. We still have three weeks left. Yikes!

I still have some cough, but it's much better. I'm starting back on my exercise starting tomorrow. Plus we ate lean for dinner this week. We both stayed the same though. We maintain beautifully - we think we're losing, but we maintain. It's kind of scary because we don't eat that much. I managed to log three days this week. Next week, I'll try to do better. I'm using Dr. Oz's online program.

Sleep tight,
Sue

Exercise is the key

Exercise is the key to staying young. It's also the key to losing weight and feeling good while you're doing it. I have not yet gotten back on schedule since being sick. I am now going for next Monday to get back to my 5:30 am workouts. I make better progress when I do this.

Sue

Secret Weight Loss Plan

OK, so what is it? Is it new WW? Please reveal.

Sue

Blue Skies

What a beautiful day it was - very blue, warm. Our mowers came through early this morning and almost got stuck beside the trailer (very muddy). Maybe there can be some drying out. Tomorrow it's supposed to be in the 80s.

The kids are in their May madness. Yikes! I am trying for the most fun and easy lessons. All they want to do is goof off.

Tomorrow we have an important doctor's appointment to discuss the PD. I have taken off school to go so we can both ask questions and get better informed. Then I see the dentist in the afternoon. Yippee!

Here's hoping you get this wonderful day out there,
Sue

Red Eared Slider

We found one on our back step. Beautiful little guy. Guess what he is?

Congrats on 4.5 lbs. Anybody who loses that should get kudos!

We went to a very nice concert last night. Paava Jarvi's second to last gig with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. We heard a newly commissioned fanfare, Bernstein Dances, an absolutely wonderful Copland clarinet concerto (a Swedish guy really wonderful), Ives, and Varese' Ameriques. What a wonderful program. They played great too.

Happy Mother's Day to RS and all you moms out there,
Sue

PS I lost .5 this week with no exercise (still getting well)....

A Word about Essi

She is just the most wonderful dog. Those kisses you get when you get home are the greatest. She is so loving. All she has in her is affection. When you're home, she's your little shadow. She loves treaties (when she does her wees and poops) and plate lickies. She loves her walks too. She brings her binkie or toys for play. She sleeps right beside me every night.

Sue

Small Dinners

We have really cut back our dinners this week (Bob is responsible - he's been cooking). We'll see if there is a proper reward at the scale. Tough week with the bad news on the levy and the rain. It was a pretty day today - finally some sun. We forgot what it felt like. My trailer is sitting in water - not good for allergies, mold, etc. We're supposed to get more rain tomorrow, but we'll see.

Sue

Low Temps and Spirits

Very discouraging day. The levy failed 57% to 43% despite all the hard work of phone calling, etc. It's a difficult phase with teachers and schools under assault from all fronts.

It rained again today and now it's clear at night when we can't get any sun. It's supposed to go down to 36.

I hope it's better out there in blog land. Come on, let's hear some positive news.

Sue

Our Levy

It looks like our school levy request is going down. This is very disappointing that people don't want to take care of their schools. Bummer.

Sue

Fad Diets and Stuff

What a day! Osama is dust. Election day is tomorrow and we find out about our levy. And it's still raining. Does anybody out there know what is with this weather? Why are we getting so much rain and no sun?

We watched Dr Oz talk about a new fad diet. He hedged more than I thought he should. I don't think fad diets work. You may get a quick weight loss, but it's mostly water and you gain it right back. The yo-yo is just not good. I think the answer is the Mediterranean diet that we talk about all the time.

Someone want to build an ark? I think we might need one.
Sue

Cod Liver Oil

Did you ever have to take cod liver oil when you were a child? It turns out that it's very good for you. Good for Omega 3s and vitamin D and good for PD. This is from Dr. Oz. He advises PD patients to take cod liver oil to help minimize symptoms. What can it hurt? It does have calories though. It's oil after all.

I finally feel slightly better. I still have the cough and some wheezing, but it's better.

Happy Sunday and happy first day of May,
Sue