10-10-10 Update

Occasionally one needs to pay the piper, or at least acknowledge his presence.

To quickly recap, I decided that October 10, 2010 (10-10-10) seemed like a good day for new beginnings, so I decided that it was a good time to seriously work on losing a bit of weight. I found a good website - MyFitnessPal.com - for logging both exercise and calories and set some goals for myself. It helped that Mitchell felt similarly motivated, so we could be supportive of each other - especially in the kitchen and when eating out.


Since then - just over seven months - I have lost 20 pounds. Hoorah!

There have been lots of little successes. I'm down one pants size and on the verge of moving down one more. [Still wondering if the post-menopausal belly will ever really shrink?] People are noticing my smaller size and making nice, supportive comments. I have become known as a regular at Jazzercise, and I have finally found a form of exercise that I not only enjoy, but also look forward to - that's a big change. And, I have gotten comfortable with smaller portions and saying "no" to lots of snacks that I used to eat mindlessly.

About a six weeks ago, however, I fell into the big trap that all of us need to avoid with any behavior change - complacency. My computer was in the shop for a few days and quickly as that I lost the habit of daily journaling. No big deal, I thought. I've been doing this long enough that I can do it without writing everything down. Wrong! I also stopped noting any progress on my blog. Ah... there wasn't any. [Denial, anyone?]

My weight loss stopped. Up a pound, down a pound, up a pound, down a pound. I took care of that by just not weighing for several weeks! [Did anyone see that ostrich?] I was lucky because I was controlling things pretty well without journaling, but I really stopped making progress.

If I were at my goal weight it would be ok to hang in there on a plateau, but I ain't there yet!

So, it's time to take stock and make a new commitment. Daily journaling is a must. The fun has long since gone out of that, but I need to do it.

The bottom line is: If something is important enough, you will do the work. If you are not willing to do the work, especially when it starts to get difficult, then maybe you don't really want it badly enough. This is true in life as well as weight loss!

I want this and I will do the work.

Saturday's Child Worked Hard

Saturday I went shopping. Not so odd for most people, but I loath shopping.

My wonderful Mitchell does 75% of the food shopping, only dragging me along every couple of weeks to do a restocking of the pantry. He does the week in-week out drudgery and most of the quick pick ups. It's one of his most wonderful gifts to me.

I can manage a couple of hours of wondering thru cute little shops when we are traveling and the occasional trip to a mall - which I see a lot like going to a museum. "Oh, isn't that interesting. Wonder what "they" did/do with that?" When I need something specific, I'm a run-in-the-door, grab it and go kinda girl. [I do pay, too.]

But especially, I hate shopping for clothes. Too many choices, too many decisions, hovering clerks, and did I mention those telephone booth-sized changing rooms, with not one, but three mirrors. What sadist invented that?

For clothes I turn to catalogs. I can leaf thru half a dozen in an evening; order what I want (usually in two sizes); ship three quarters of it back two weeks later and be perfectly happy. But the combination of three years working at home, losing 17.5 pounds [oh, did I forget the mention that!] and a change of seasons has left me badly in need of some transitional basics. As the pile of things to go to Goodwill has grown, the number of choices in my closet has shrunk and I am not quite ready to pull out the summer clothes in the next smaller size.

So, off I ran yesterday to shop. [The last time I did this was about five years ago. Elizabeth took me to a Liz Claiborne outlet and acted as my "stylist" carrying things back and forth until she found me several very nice things - which I may be able to wear again in a few more pounds!] This time I went all by myself!

Had my heart set on a skirt I had seen on TV. [I know. That was really stupid. The chances of actually finding it and in a size that fit, were - well tiny. But they were also having a sale.] Two hours and many trips to the mirrored telephone booth later, and home I came laden with.... [drumroll, please] ... clothes!

I did find the skirt and it only needs a little altering in the waist. And, tee shirts to match (three), and black pants, and a white shrug and a black and white blouse, and a black and gray tweed jacket. [Ok. That one's a winter piece, but it's a classic that I can wear for years - and I promise I will.]

Now I still want a white jacket, but I have plenty of catalogs to look at, or maybe I can run in somewhere, grab and go.

Thanks, Mom!

Mother Nature had a gift this morning - two, actually.


After ten years of producing a handful of blooms, this camellia has come into its own this spring. Now a three by four shrub it is finally covered in blooms. They appear to be a compound blossom - single outer petals, but a very double center.


And, while this forsythia is not technically mine - it lives just across the "line" in my neighbor's yard - it is still mine to enjoy. When it blooms - apparently yesterday - spring is really just around the corner. I wish it got a bit more sun and a bit more attention, but I can't really tend it like I think one should.

My neighbor is 96 and still works in the yard as she can. Her parents once owned all the land of our neighborhood as part of their farm. When she married, she and her husband moved into the house next door and there she has lived "forever". She still plants a bit, digs a bit, rakes a bit - and walks laps around the perimeter nearly every day. While I would be happy to help more, I think it keeps her going to have the garden and yard to care for. I notice that she does let me weed the iris bed, but that's about all!

Today is April in early March. Still a bit of a cool breeze, but we have had showers all day with more predicted - perhaps a downpour. The flowers certainly do need it, but I hope it stays sporadic so that the ground can absorb more and it doesn't all run off. It's in the high 50's today and smells like warmer weather. Definitely a step in the right direction.


For years I have taken the Tete a' Tete daffodils and moved them around the yard to "make more". Suddenly they are everywhere! poking their tiny heads out from around and under all sorts of plants. It's just the effect I wanted. By next year when they have a chance to multiply in all these new spaces they will be wonderful. Here they're hanging out the the first of the phlox. (The messy looking stems on the right are the hyacinths I had in the house last month. I hope they will rebloom outside next year.)

Here's one final present from me to you - happy Sunday!



10-10-10

Down 16 pounds today! and lost nearly 6 inches in the waist, abdomen and hips. Still not down a whole pants size (rats!) but am starting to put my biggest pants in the Goodwill pile.

And, as much as I hate to say it, I miss exercise on days when I can't fit it in. That is the most totally weird statement I have ever made.

Working at the Top of the Green

"Plie' right and left. Two slow, four fast. Let's do it again. Give me two more sets. We're almost to the top of the green. Are you still breathing?"

"Whoooo!"

It's the prettiest morning in weeks - sun shining outside and in the 40's. Inside nineteen of us dancing and sweating in unison - fogging up the windows with the heat we're generating. I often wonder who we really are? Several are clearly retired - including two of the men who come regularly. Linda is a police officer who comes on her days off and Cindy works as a dispatcher for the county. Today there are no young mothers with toddlers in the day care room, altho there often are. Sid is rumored to be a former dancer. From the way she carries herself and dances (and the fact that she takes two classes every day) I suspect the rumors are true.

"Ok, chaussee' right, ball change to the front. Now back to the left and do it again. We're almost done at the top of the curve! This is the long set, let's keep it going." [If I keep it going for much longer I'll be working at the flat line!] "Skip it up to me four, now take it back. One more time and hold it right there."

"Grab your mats, weights and water bottles. Are you squeezing your glutes?"

"Whooo!"

[Squeezing my glutes? They died twenty minutes ago! Maybe tomorrow...]

Yes, definitely tomorrow.

10-10-10

Lost 15 pounds total and 5.8 inches and am still on track with the eating and exercise plan.

The eating plan is becoming part of my life, too. Last Monday night we were invited out to a fancy Italian restaurant and Saturday Mitchell wanted pizza for lunch. Both days I researched lower calorie choices for those restaurants (and for Italian food in general) and was able to eat something good but not use all my calories for the day. [And, I felt super virtuous at keeping to my plan, while Mitchell ate whatever showed up on his plate. There is nothing like a little competition with the spouse to keep one on track!]

The inches are still a bit more troubling. A total of 2.5 inches off the waist and 2 inches off the hips, so I should be thrilled.... and into smaller pants! But I am not. That pesky abdomen is not shrinking as fast as the rest of me. I know it's partly due to the post-menopausal change in our bodies that the pear gets bigger - think Anjou, not Bartlett! - but it makes the pants even more difficult to fit. I really could go down a size in the waist - you know, the big gap in the back of the waist - and I look like droopy drawers from the back, but I still need the space in the front. Aargh!

Oh, and the rest of that weight is off my back. I will be down a tee-shirt size this spring and already need a shopping trip for new bras.

So, it's all good news this week.

Which Way, Egypt?

Have you found yourself following Egypt this week? It reminds me so much of the week that the Berlin Wall came down, or the demonstrations in Tienanmen Square. It's fascinating to think that we may be watching a new Egypt being born, especially when you think how very, very old Egypt is. Think about that - before the New Testament, way before.

Of course, we Americans assume that when a country changes government, they will certainly want to choose our form of democracy and it ain't always that simple. We thought that the Afghans would jump delightedly into American-style democracy as soon as we got rid of Saddam for them. It hasn't worked out that way.

You can hear our political leaders walking a narrow line now. Wanting to encourage a more democratic form of government, but hoping that the majority party will not be an Islamic one. We can't really have it both ways, you know.

So, we will watch and wait. We can hope that the Egypt that emerges will be one with which we can continue to work. It will be interesting.


10-10-10

Down 14 pounds today. Liking the increased exercise and well aware of the relationship between more exercise and more food! Just wish I could move down to a smaller pants size. Makes me wonder how tight was I wearing them?

Gutters or Shutters?

Today was that rite of winter-wishing-to-be-spring ... the Home and Garden Show. You know The day when everyone who has a product or service even vaguely related to home, hearth, and garden brings it all together to that folks who are yearning for better weather [that would be me!] come to spend money they don't have on projects... that they might need.

We have had both good and bad experiences in the past. The first year in our new house we found a great blind cleaner, i.e, he comes to your house and cleans your mini-blinds, as well as a guy who molded concrete borders for our garden. Both are now out of business [for which we are sorry!] but we got good service from each.

Other years we have wandered around and found nothing that we needed, and nothing that was interesting. The main trends today were gutters or shutters, garden rooms and food.

1) Gutters - It seems that there are lots of things one can do to avoid cleaning one's gutters. There were three different systems to cover the gutters and prevent leaves collecting in them, as well as my personal favorite - a gutter that flips down and dumps out the leaves. You gotta love flip down gutters! In the interest of full disclosure, I have to say that our house came with gutter guards, so we passed.



2) Shutters - well, actually siding, but shutters rhymes so well. You can get siding in all sorts of colors, patterns, and materials - all apparently preferable to vinyl. Paintable or with the color baked in, colonial or textured - they come in many different styles and prices. Fortunately, our house came with siding, so we are set there.

3) Food - I think the tie-in is that you make food in your home - assuming that you have a kitchen. Today you could choose dips to mix with cream cheese or mayonnaise in 20 different flavors. Three for $10 or six for $15. Clearly a deal. I couldn't decide what flavors, so passed on this opportunity.

4) Gardens as rooms - Apparently people are not moving to larger homes this year (had you already guessed that?) so they are enlarging their existing homes by incorporating garden rooms. We saw huge patios, huge patios with pergolas, and huge patio kitchens. Big stone, big walls, just plain big. Acres of large pavers were lovely, but who has a yard that big? Passed on this, too.

4) Food - cheese from a cooperative, Virginia raised beef, cheese straws, peanuts (this is Virginia) or jellies and preserves. Lots of opportunities to taste, but we passed again - at least on purchasing.

5) Solar - Saw some interesting things here. The state-wide solar green initiative had lots of information on building with solar panels and going greener. We are far enough south that one day all homes built in Virginia will have solar panels. We're going to look into a solar powered attic exhaust fan. It's reasonably priced and we can get a 30% tax rebate since it's solar. I think it might save enough to pay for itself in a couple of year. Definitely on the follow-up list. There was also an interesting solar oven. I've had a bit of curiosity about getting one.

6) Food - well, wine. Three local wineries were giving tastings of their wares. Couldn't insult them by not at least sampling... right? Didn't actually add any bottles to our "cellar", but did try a couple of things that we liked enough to write down for future reference.

Two others vendors with whom I plan to follow-up are a company that refinishes kitchen counters and one that installs pull-out shelves in existing kitchen cabinets. I'd like both for my kitchen. Like others, we plan to stay here for the long term so we are upgrading a bit over time.

If the Home and Garden Show is here, can spring be far behind?

10-10-10

Didn't post last weekend because somehow my obsession with losing weight seemed very frivolous with all that was happening in Tucson. Down 10 pounds and 2.5 inches. Had a couple of hard days this week and regained a couple of pounds, but am back on track. Clothes are fitting noticeably better now.

A Perfect Beginning

Today is just the perfect day for new beginnings. After celebrating the new year on Atlantic Standard Time,

[not familiar with that time zone? Well, it's technically 15 degrees east of the Eastern Standard zone in the U.S., so an hour earlier than here in Central Virginia. We have spent a lot of time there in the Bahamas, but the Bahamas actually observe Eastern Time, even tho they are Atlantic!]

I was up early this morning. Walking out to get the paper I found the kind of crisp, trying-to-be-warm morning that one normally encounters in late March - in these parts. A warm front is moving thru today bringing us warmer weather for a few days, and I thought for a second that I was in the wrong season. A sliver of moon and Venus were still visible hanging high in the sky. Now the skies are more overcast, but it's almost balmy.

The nicest thing is the lack of traffic. Don't know if folks are glued to the Rose Bowl Parade, or sleeping off too much festivities, but either way the result is a calm and peaceful morning. Makes me feel like anything is possible.

10-10-10

One thing that is possible in 2011 is to continue my war against weight. Whoa! That might be my new name for it. Sunday is my normal weigh-in day, but I jumped on the scales a day early so that I could start the year accurately. Total lost is 8 pounds since Thanksgiving.

Many of you encouraged me to embrace the first five pounds that I kept trying to see as "new" weight and somehow not worthy of counting. I have realized that not counting them as lost is a way of denying them as gained. So, I have embraced both! [Thanks for your guidance!]

What have I learned so far? A lot. I have tried counting calories lots of times - with no particular success. I have tried journaling several times - but stopped after a few days. But this time I am using all the weapons:

Journaling with MyFitnessPal.com - I think the reason this works is that they have a huge database of foods, so it's easy to find what one eats and calculate the calories using serving size. It's harder to cheat [that entire of block of cheese was probably 1.5 ounces - right?] and more satisfying that the numbers are more accurate.

Serving Size is crucial - and most "normal" servings really are enough. We keep a digital scale on the counter - even weighed our NYE goodies last night- along with a series of cup measures. Measuring has become part of meal preparation and serving the plates. No seconds allowed unless they are measured, too! and no picking off the counter after dinner!

Jazzercize is fun and crucial. On the days I dance, I can't eat - at least don't want to eat - all the calories that I am allowed. This is definitely helping with the weight loss and overall fitness. And, please don't tell ... but, I have finally started enjoying exercise. Remember all those times you heard that everyone needs to find a form of exercise she likes... well, add this to tennis for me!

Support is also crucial - yours and Mitchell's. Since he is losing, too, it's helpful to work together. He is not getting as much exercise as I am, so not yet losing as fast. That will change next week when he gets back to his pre-holidays schedule of tennis. We will have to eat out a good bit this next week - [I'll show you why in a few days] - so we have already started talking about strategies to eat less at restaurants, and which restaurants to choose so that we can have more control.

It's truly a change in lifestyle. I still need to deal - at some point - with emotional eating and snacking, but that will come at maintenance time. Until then, I am getting good at smaller servings, journaling and dancing more, so progress is being made!

Onward into 2011. This is the perfect beginning!

Sunday Movies

A cold afternoon with nothing pressing to do, so we saw "The Black Swan". While this is not a traditional ballet movie, it was fascinating. Easy to see why there is Oscar buzz for Natalie Portman. I hope Barbara Hershey also gets consideration. If you get a chance, see it.




10-10-10

Six fitness classes this week and one pound lost. One Christmas party survived. A good week!

Wrappin' it All Up

The cutting board spread out on the dining room table, rolls of paper everywhere, presents stacked waiting to be wrapped, ribbons unrolling across the table, gift tags on the floor... it could have been yesterday at my house, or any one of the Christmases of my childhood.

The first weekend in December [ok, often the second weekend] my Dad would be found with everything piled up and ready for his special handling and wrapping. He liked to do the wrapping, so Mother did the buying. He was very particular. All the folds were straight and all the ends were perfect - drug store fold, he called it - and every bow precise. As a child I worked my way up the ladder of helper jobs - first, holder of the finger on the bow. (No pre-made stick-on bows were allowed in my house!) The finger holder was always the youngest child there - a fact that I lorded over my brother for many years after he was tired of being the designated finger holder.

One could eventually move up to tag-tier - the person who ties the gift tag on after the bow is properly adjusted. The highest position allowed to a helper was folder of the ends. It took years of training to be allowed to do this all-important job, but no child was ever allowed to progress to the top job - cutter of paper and maker for the initial wrap-around. That job was always reserved for Dad. I think he figured that if he got it started off correctly, we couldn't mess it up too much!

He had triumphs over the years - the year that he passed the pool table off as a set of saw horses with plywood on top. That stunt lasted nearly two weeks without my brother even thinking of taking a peek. And, he disguised my piano as a sideboard, going thru an elaborate charade of sending Mother out to shop while "her" sideboard was delivered - with my brother and me hired as guards to keep her out of the house until he was finished with the wrap. The man was a master with paper and tape!

His techniques have served me well over the years and I still count wrapping as another of my beloved holiday tasks. I thoroughly enjoyed spending both yesterday morning and today getting everything that needs to be shipped all ready to go.

I'm feeling a little bit traitorous this year. Sande over at A Gift-Wrapped Life has been encouraging us to spread our wings and try some fancier, more special treatments this year. While my packages will never look like hers, I did choose two themes this year with bright red packages for the women on my list and red and green plaid for the men. My big jump, tho, was leaving behind the curl-tie ribbon that Dad favored and moving up the scale to wider, decorative ribbon that is wired on the sides - at least for the women. I also used fancy tissue papers this year and Merry Christmas stickers - innovations all. My family is going to love Sande's influence on me.

My niece has a late December birthday, so I always try to include a special something for her that is clearly not a Christmas present. This is probably my best wrapping job in years - complete with two perfect ends! And I love the ribbon, except that I bought it before I knew about wired ribbon, so it's not perky.

I'm thrilled with the results and will probably move a little farther to the creative side in the future. (Many thanks to Sande.) So, on the one hand a big job is finished and I will make the trek to UPS tomorrow to get our gifts on the way to friends and family, but on the other hand I am finished with a fun job... until next year!

10-10-10

Finally I am feeling a bit of progress on this little project. The MyFitnessPal website seems to be helping. Somehow there is a sense of accomplishment in logging all my food and exercise, and I like the little computer generated encouragements that I get every day. It's also fun to see if I can search for a food they don't have - so far they are winning that contest.

I gained five pounds during the week of Thanksgiving when we were traveling. Those came off in the next 10 days, putting me back to where I started in the first place nearly two months ago. I am not really counting those five pounds as lost, altho MyFitnessPal does. They had not been attached long enough to get settled into the new neighborhood.

Even counting my old starting point, I am down - ta ta - 1.5 pounds this week. That's after attending three holiday parties this week. I have been to dance class five times and planned for bigger dinners on the party nights, and managed very well. So, today I am feeling very powerful and ready to tackle next week.

Hope that you are doing as well and feeling as strong.

Kicking it up a Notch

So... the 10-10-10 Get in Better Shape (aka Lose Some Weight) program is not going so well. After a week's vacation that included five mornings of tennis and two days on a bike, I "only" gained five pounds - putting me at a new lifetime high weight. Not at all the sort of record one wants to set - ever!

It's time to kick it up a notch.

I have a lot of things going for me:

1) I have all the skills and experience I need for this. I have lost weight successfully a number of times. [Altho it's also true that I am even more successful at gaining it back. We will deal with that later - in about six months!]

2) I have support. Stacy (a Wise Woman), you all in blogland, and starting today Mitchell. More on that later.

3) I have found an exercise that I actually like - Jazzercise - and have been slowly increasing the number of times a week I go. And after a three-month break, I am ready to start playing tennis again.

4) I have a new tool. I know that journaling is incredibly helpful in the weight loss game, but I have not been doing it. Apparently having to write it down if it goes into the mouth causes us to either not put it in the mouth at all, or to choose a healthier option. You know, a cup of tea instead of a tablespoon of peanut butter (right out of the jar!). But, keeping track in my head is just not doing the trick.

5) And, perhaps most important of all, I know that I can do it. It will be hard, but I can do it.

And, I'm sharing the new tool with you. It's a free website called MyFitnessPal. You set up an account, set your goals and create a profile and then track both your food intake and your exercise on whatever basis you want - daily, weekly, or whatever. That sounds a lot like journaling, doesn't it? The modern difference is that the site calculates how much exercise and how many calories you need for a slow and sensible weight loss and provides the info on how many fat grams, carbs, protein grams and fiber grams on a daily basis. As you enter your foods consumed, it calculates what you have left. At the end of the day - when you have also entered any exercise - it gives you a daily summary.

You can do weigh-ins as you wish and it keeps a running track, as well as calculating BMI - now, that's scary - and resting metabolism and all sorts of other nerdy statistical stuff. There are message boards, blogs, all sorts of community resources. You have the option to post your weight loss to your Facebook account - like I'm going to do that!! And if you have one of those fancy phones, you can access your account from there and do your inputting on the fly.

Mitchell found the site this morning and shared it with me. He announced that he wants to lose some weight, too, and we are going to work together on this. It helps so much to have an in-the-house partner. We planned dinner together tonight and calculated how much each of us could have, and he's already talking about how to make soup tomorrow, so it will be a good partnership for us both.

If you are interested, please join us. We're gonna get healthy ... and a bit slimmer! My goal is significant for a short woman, so it may take nine months or more, so I am looking at 11-11-11 as a goal date. How do you like that?

Help From a Wise Woman

One of the Wisest of Women came for a brief visit, and as usual brought me her wisdom and a new insight into my never-ending struggle to lose weight. Stacy was in town to speak at our quarterly staff meeting this week.

In the two years since we worked together, she has returned to school and is 75% thru her Ph.D. course load and is working as a researcher in obesity at the state land grant university. The combination of her work experience and her studies gives her the exact set of skills and knowledge that can provide good training and insight to our staff of health educators and exercise physiologists.... and HR me!

It has been fun over the years to learn tidbits from their specialty. In 18 years I've heard at least 100 presentations on some part of health education, and have worked with staff as they developed at least 1,000 programs so I have more than a working knowledge of the field and less than expertise. Stacy's talk on Theories of Behavior Change was not over my head at all, and led me to an ah ha moment.

Self-efficacy - a fancy scientific name for self-confidence. Apparently the reason that many people fail in their efforts to change their behavior is that they are not confident that they can do it. "I need to go to the gym every day, but I can't make the time." " I want to stop smoking, but I smoke three packs a day." " I want to lose weight, but I love to eat."

I just don't believe that I can do it. Wow, there it was. Right in the middle of her presentation it hit me square in the face - almost viscerally. I really don't believe that I can do it.

And, there's a lot of evidence that proves me right. I lost 35 pounds six or seven years ago before putting it all back on. And, I can't count - or even remember - all the other times that I have lost 10 - 20 pounds, just to regain it. A true yoyo dieter. There it is - evidence. I can't do it.

Wait a minute. There's also evidence that I can. What about those 35 pounds? I did lose it. It was hard, but I did it. And I kept it off successfully for 18 months. Bought an entire new wardrobe in a much smaller size. What can I do to replicate that success? What happened? Why did I put it back on? What can I learn from that experience that will make me successful again?

Simple answer: I'm an emotional eater. Something bad happened and I packed on 10 pounds in one week (seriously!) and then "what the heck?" Rather than lose the 10, I gained 25 more seeking comfort in food.

So what's the take away message from Stacy?

1) I can do it. There is evidence. I have done it successfully in the past.

2) I need to reinforce that successful behavior. I need to tell myself - daily? Well, how about at every meal and perhaps when I think I want a snack? - that I can do it. I can skip the extras. I can eat smaller portions. I can throw away food!

3) I need to go back to what I know works - smaller portions, keeping a food journal, and more exercise. And I need to add good self talk.

10-10-10

Ok, so it's been five weeks since I launched my 10-10-10 campaign and I have lost exactly zero pounds. It's a two-pronged campaign - more exercise and less food.

I have done a good job of getting myself to Jazzercise more days a week. Last week it was four, and as much as I hate to admit this... I am starting to resent things [like work] that keep me away. The next step is to add afternoon classes when I miss my morning class. Right now we are headed to a week's vacation where we plan to play a lot of tennis and have already reserved bicycles for the week. The plan is to do some form of physical activity every day, so that should be an acceptable substitute for dance class.

And, I have a new strategy for eating. Remember past success. I can do it.

And you can, too! Think about it. Do you believe you can do it? Do you.... really?

Getting Out of the Rut...

of cooking, that is.

Do you find a good recipe- or maybe an old favorite - that you make and make and make? I certainly do that, even tho I read plenty of magazines with lots of good new choices. And, I have a pile a foot deep of things that sound good, but which I haven't gotten around to trying... yet.

So the past few weeks I have been really making an effort to make at least one new thing a week. I've even made shopping lists! Two weeks ago it was Southwestern Cream of Chicken Soup - delicious the first night, but too much cheese to reheat well. Last week I tried Pork and Mushroom Stew, which was delicious, and quickly disappeared.

This week's entry was Chicken Chilaquiles Casserole. It looked so good that I meant to take a photo, but since I didn't you will have to take my word that it looked almost like the photo from the magazine! The recipe for two made plenty for two meals, so we will reheat it with chips or something over the weekend.

The real problem was that the promised 40 minutes to prepare was really an hour plus, and I used half the pots and pans that I own. Mitchell gallantly did the dishes since I had been - literally - slaving over a hot stove for so long. I liked the flavors, so will try to find a way to re-create the taste without the long prep time.

I have one more recipe chosen for next week and then it will be time to fall back on some old favorites - Chicken Chili, anyone?

10-10-10

Four Jazzercise programs, +0.5 pounds. Frustration.

Catching Up

Fall has sneaked up on me this year.

In the back of my mind I was aware that college football was underway [seven weeks it turns out!] and that the sky was changing its color. I had seen the deep V's of geese flying and heard their honking. [In this neck of the woods they are flying in both directions - most confusing!]

Pumpkins are lined up at every church in the neighborhood. Who buys all those wonderful orange orbs? and, have you seen the pale greens ones? They look like something a luna moth would love. Actually, I love them, too.

Even the pond fish have started coming sluggishly to get a snack. Gone are the feeding frenzies of the warmer weather.

Yesterday we turned the gas on for the fireplace and put the comforter on the bed. Today we'll switch out the winter clothes for the summer stock.

I think today I will go see how many mall stores have put up their Christmas gear. That should get me caught up with the change of seasons!


10-10-10

5 classes
-1.5 pounds

Nothing extraordinary there - well, the five classes are. But at least I don't have to drag out my excuse of eating for two days this week at a posh resort, where I tried to single-handedly empty their dessert bar.

Happy 10-10-10

It's all over the news today, and it seems like a big deal, so I keep trying to think of something worthwhile to do to celebrate the uniqueness of the date. [I hear the English teachers in revolt over "uniqueness". I know. I did it for effect.]

According to TheKnot.com 32,000 couples are getting married today. I can't really do that, since I'm already married. Virginia is a conservative state, and I'm pretty sure bigamy is still a big no-no-no here.

In numerology the date reduces to "5" which is apparently the number for love. Using another formula in numerology the three 1's signify success and the three 0's signify divine support. That makes it sound like a project involving love would have both success and a little help from "above". I don't really have a little project like that in mind. Somehow I think that Virginia might allow it, but Mitchell might have a bit of a problem with it....

Those of you in the garden business will have immediately recognized 10-10-10 as the fertilizer for nearly everything. You know, if you don't have time - or energy - to fertilize all the different parts of your garden with what they need, give them all 10-10-10 and everyone will be somewhat happy and better off than they will be without any fertilizer. This is probably how I should have spent the day, but I didn't. I may see how this one works on 10-15-10 instead.

Suzy Welch has a book [disclaimer here: I have not read the book, just the Amazon blurb] in which she posits that when making a decision one needs to consider the rule of 10-10-10. What will be the consequences in 10 minutes, 10 months and 10 years. Now here's something I might be able to use.

I like the approach. We tend to look a decisions in terms of the ends of our noses, rather than taking a short, medium and long view - all at the same time. So, sometimes we luck into a good decision ("we'll eat the sirloin tonight, because it won't keep") and sometimes we don't. ("Love these shoes, am sure they will feel better as they get broken-in.." but, none of you has ever done that!)

The decision that I have been tossing around in my head for months, ok, years, is to make a commitment to a healthier lifestyle.

Perhaps I should tell you the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth:

1) I've been on every diet known to man: Atkins (lost 35, gained 40); grapefruit (lost 15, gained 15); Pritikin (can't remember); Scarsdale (not that one either); Weight Watchers (three times); SlimFast, OptiFast; NutriSystem (lost 5, gained 5) and dozens more. Net result I'm at least 30 pounds above my BMI optimal weight. Either that, or I should be seven inches taller - I looked it up, but don't think there is much chance of that happening.

2) I work for a health education company. I tell people that I am the affirmative action hire, but going to meetings with all those folks who are in good shape is depressing. The partners are fully supportive of my taking time off in the middle of the day to get exercise. They let me play tennis last season on Thursday mornings, and pay for my tennis club membership. No excuse there.

3) I've taken steps - just not enough. I go to Jazzercise two or three days a week - most weeks. Too often I let my work schedule interfere. I like to go at 8:15 in the morning, but when I have an early meeting I don't go at 4:30 or 5:45 or 7:00 in the evenings, and I could. And, I've slacked off tennis. Actually haven't had a racquet in my hand since the middle of July. I have lots of excuses, but no good reasons.

So, 10-10-10. Here it is. I am committing to a healthier lifestyle - fewer calories and more exercise. The goals are 1400 calories a day and five sessions of exercise a week.

Charlene at the Balance Beam keeps telling me to see this as a positive - live a healthy lifestyle, not go on a diet - so I shall.

The one component of Weight Watchers that I always thought was the most helpful was the public acknowledgment of progress, so I will also be posting two things every Sunday: the number of workout sessions for the week, and the number of pounds lost. [You notice that I am not giving you my starting weight - TMI!]

So, we will call this 10-10-10 because I will love myself more and have success because of the divine support [I actually think that you all are the divine support] garnered by committing on this auspicious day, and the 10-minute consequence is that I will not have peanut butter crackers as a snack this afternoon [tea instead], but in 10 months I will be healthier [and lighter], and I will live 10 more years because of it.

Tune in - we're gonna make me successful.