Friday Fragments

  I'm loving the new Frag Header!

  I'm off to the dentist this morning to get my long-awaited crown for my implant.  I should've had it a month ago except the lab messed up.  And then 2 weeks ago (when I should've gotten the replacement) they called to ask about the color (which they already had from the messed up crown).  I'll just be glad to have this ordeal over (and to stop having food get stuck in between my implant & my teeth)!

 I met a couple of friends last night at an establishment that has entertainment on Thursdays.  There was a local girl (she went to the Rival High School) & a couple of her friends from DePaul in Chicago who have started up a little band called "Ask Your Folks". They describe their music as "Appalachian Funk".  If you're in the Chicago area, definitely look them up.  They were very good!

This clip is not one of "their" songs, but they did play a few songs that they had written.

They have an album coming out in the fall.

  One of the good things about walking in the park so early is that the girls & I have the park to ourselves.  This morning, we didn't see anybody else; we usually run into a couple of people who are smart enough to walk before it gets too hot & humid.  

  One of the bad things about being in the park alone is that I'm the one to clear the spider webs that are stringing over the path.  They aren't full-blown webs, just strings, but still...YUCK.

  OS made it in on Wed. without any problems.  He flew Frontier Airlines, and he said it was "okay".  There is a charge for baggage (whether you carry it on or check it), and no free food or drinks, so he was a little hungry when he got home.  As soon as I saw him, I may have had some tears in my eyes.  He looked really good; he looked like he had put on a little weight, and he was tanned.  I had to laugh, because he mentioned how humid it was, and he hadn't been outside yet!  Funny how quickly we forget things like that!

  Check out "Ask Your Folks" website; there are a few free downloads on there under the "Media" tab!  askyourfolks.com 

Encouraging, Exercising, and Diet

Encouraging:

Yesterday I mentioned that I was getting a little discouraged with the whole weight loss thing.  This morning, I stepped on the scale and it said I had lost 2 more pounds.  That was definitely an encouraging sign!

When I opened my email, I had a message from Denise at Just Me, Being Me. When I visited her blog to reciprocate the Hodgepodge reading, I read her previous post as well.  She's inviting those of us who need encouragement to continue to exercise and eat right to join her!  Talk about perfect timing!  Hopefully she'll start a facebook page so it will be easier to give (and receive) encouragement.

Exercising:

I've done the "gym thing", and honestly, I just don't want to waste my money on a gym when I have a wonderful park right next to the house, as well as some hand weights.  I've been around the gym enough to know how to exercise, and what to do.  

I've also done aerobics, step aerobics, and aqua aerobics, as well as played quite a bit of tennis.  But, now that I'm older, my knees just can't take the tennis and aerobics (minus the aqua), and on top of that, I started getting headaches after working out.  I had a doctor tell me that it was probably due to dehydration, but I hydrated as much as I could before, during, and after.  And then I found out a couple of years ago that this happens to a couple of my sisters as well.

I went to a dietitian about 10 years ago when I needed to lose about 50 pounds.  On top of the diet (which I'll get to in a minute), she told me I had to walk 30 minutes every day.  30 minutes...that was all.  For overall cardiovascular health, The American Heart Association recommends:

• At least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity at least 5 days per week for a total of 150
  
  OR

• At least 25 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity at least 3 days per week for a total of 75 minutes; or a combination of moderate- and vigorous-intensity aerobic activity
  
  AND

• Moderate- to high-intensity muscle-strengthening activity at least 2 days per week for additional health benefits.

On Instagram, I follow a teacher who is documenting her weight loss/toning up journey.  Even though I could probably be her mom (age-wise), she is quite the inspiration.  Some days, she gives me the encouragement by just looking at her pictures and seeing the transformation!  I'm not so naive to think that I will end up looking as great as she does, but hopefully I can show some improvement in myself.

So, my exercise regiment goes something like this:  I walk 2 of the dogs in the park between 6 & 6:30 in the morning.  The walk around the whole park takes about 30 minutes.  Being in E. Tn., there are hills, so my upper legs/butt are getting a workout.  Walking so early means that I pretty much have the park to myself.  I may see a couple of people, but that's it.  And, Laika is doing a pretty good job (most of the time) of not pulling my arm out of socket!  After I get back to the house, I get my weights and do my arm exercises:  overhead press, triceps chop, dumbell curl, tricep kickbacks, and concentration curls.  After seeing 5 Low-Weight Exercises, I may add a couple more to my routine.  

Diet:

As I mentioned, I went to a dietitian some years ago on a physician's referral.  I was fortunate enough that my insurance covered the cost of most of her fees.  She was absolutely wonderful.  The first thing she did was sit me down, and ask me about my schedule:  when did I get up, eat meals, go to bed.  Then, she told me when to eat, what to eat, and how much to eat.  My eating plan looked something like this:

(Click for a bigger picture as well as the credit)

The exception was that I only have 1 snack in between lunch & dinner that consists of a starch and a dairy. The first couple of days are miserable, but after that, I don't even want anything sweet.  That's really saying something, because I have a horrible sweet tooth.  If I do want something sweet, I'll get a sugar-free popsicle, jello, or a mint.  (The popsicle & jello are "free".)
I'm a bit surprised that they have a fruit down as a snack. My dietitian told me to never have fruit by itself as a snack since it increases your sugar quickly, and then sends it crashing, making you more hungry.

As far as drinks, I mainly drink water.  I may have a diet green tea with dinner (Mixed Berry is my favorite), and I'll have a cup of coffee mid-morning.  I haven't given up my creamer, though!  I've pretty much given up diet cokes all together.

So, there you have it. I've lost 7 pounds so far; 30 more to go.  What is your diet/exercise routine?  Any suggestions for me are welcome!

Settling into Summer

I'm settling into a summer routine.  It's a bit different this year, because I don't have any kids for whom I have to be responsible...for the first time in 26 years.  YS still lives at home, but he's self-sufficient and pretty much comes & goes as he pleases.  He's taking a class & working, so he's not here very much.
Here's my routine (so far):
  Eat breakfast (after I let the girls out for their morning potty break)
  Take Laika & Pepper for a 30 minute walk in the park.  One time around the loop of the park takes right at 30 minutes, which is what my dietitian (12 years ago when I had one & lost 50 pounds) told me to do every day.  I'm following that with some arm exercises (because my arms haven't gotten waaaay out of hand...so to speak!)...need to add some ab work to that, too!
  Computer time:  blog, read blogs, check emails.  I'm trying to stay off of FB in the mornings...that's 1 sure way to get sucked in and waste a lot of time!
  Mid-morning coffee while having computer time.  (To help stave off the urge to eat something!)  Did you know that you have to have water in the coffee maker to make coffee?  I usually put the water in first, but yesterday put the coffee in, turned it on, and sat down at the table.  Then I wondered why I didn't hear it!
  Shower.  Followed by some book reading or cleaning.
  Lunch...and more reading.  I like to read while I'm eating lunch.  I know you're not supposed to do anything while you're eating, but...oh, well!
  Clean.  At least 1 room, or part of a room.  I don't want to get too carried away!  Or, run errands in town.
  By this time, it's late afternoon; time to wind down with reading and maybe a nap!
  Fix dinner so that it's ready soon after CH gets home from work.
  Clean the kitchen, followed by more reading.  It's been cool enough lately that I can sit out on the back porch for a little while and read.  I know that's going to come to an end very soon, though!  When I come in, it's FB time & tv.  Followed by bed.

We have a few out of town short trips planned, so hopefully I'll be able to fall back into the routine when we get back. 
I'm the kind of person who needs a routine (see the coffee-making!); I just do better and get more accomplished when I have one.  Ally (my 15 year old mini-schnauzer) has been "woofing" around 5:00 a.m.; I try to hold her off until 6:00.  It's summer break, after all!
Do you have a summer routine?  If so, what is it?

Summer Bucket List

I saw this on another blog, and thought it was a pretty good idea.  If it's out there, I'll be held to it, right?

(In no particular order)

~  Clean the house.  By that, I mean really clean the house.
~  Clean out closets.  There are a couple of closets that have been neglected; I need to pay attention to them and get them reorganized.
~  Look through the totes in the basement and purge them.  We've been in the house for almost 10 years; it's time to seriously get in there and get rid of some stuff.
~  Eat right.  I'm a stress eater, and this past school year was very stressful, which resulted in quite a bit of weight gain.
~  Exercise more.  (See the previous explanation)
~  Read.  I have about a gazillion books on my Kindle app that need to be read.
~  Keep the tv off during the day.
~  Limit my time on the computer during the day.
~  Do a better job at blogging.

We'll see how I do!

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