A New Day Dawning

March is almost here and my breakfast challenge will begin.  I awoke thinking a couple of things.  If I'm going to eat like a queen in the mornings, I need to:

• wake up earlier.  I'm not giving myself enough time to wake, shower, dress, be a hair stylist and make-up artist PLUS eat my great breakfast in the short amount of time I'm giving myself.  So I must set my alarm clock earlier and GET OUT OF BED!

 

• plan my breakfasts.  I'm the strawberry that bought easy, pop in the microwave and run breakfasts.  If I'm going to eat like a queen, I need easy to make items but I need enough time to add fruit on a nice plate and sit at the table like a queen.  I wonder if I could coax Boy into attending me at the dining room table.  I have a feeling I'd be dinging that little tinkle bell all morning long.  His alarm clock has been going off for 25 minutes right now and it is buzzing in front of his face.  It has an obnoxious ring about it and he hasn't stirred an ounce or a wink or whatever the saying is. 

 

•  have on hand those great breakfast items.  I need fruit and veggies and every item to make my breakfasts once I make my menu once I think it up and once I get it on paper and once I can think about what I'd like and once I check out the Eating Well website for their breakfast menus.  Okay, this part I NEED to work on because I don't have a plan and March is right around the corner...no, it's right next door....no, it's walking up the steps to my house getting ready to knock on the door.  And ready or not, it's here. 

Gotta get my plan in gear.  That's on Today's Agenda.  How about you?  Do you have a plan?  Will you take the March Breakfast Challenge with me?  I'd love to hear about it.

And now for your monthly dose of my fur-mily.  Here is a picture I took last night of the dynamic duo!  Aren't they cute?

Kitzilla is yawning but she looks like she is ready to take off Boy's leg!

All is calm

We go together like ramma lamma lamma ka dinga da dinga dong

It's Never Too Late

So it's almost March....so I'm starting a "new year's resolution".....so what?  It can be done.  There is no reason to wait a whole nuther year to kick my butt into action.  I received my first copy of Eating Well magazine.  I think I'm going to like this one.  Great recipes (or at least the pictures are pretty) AND there are challenges.  The March challenge is breakfasts.  Do you like to eat breakfast?  I come from a family who does not get hungry till noon-- who are they and how in the heck am I related to them?  I wake up hungry and continue craving throughout the day.  There is a saying and I know you've heard it, but if you haven't, let me introduce you to this wonderful ditty:

In the morning (breakfast)- eat like a queen (actually the saying is "king")

In the afternoon (lunch)- eat like a princess (well, okay the saying is "prince")

In the evening- eat like a pauper-- no sex discrimination here!

My dear grandmother embraced this way of eating and she lived to almost 100!  I vividly remember her breakfast consisted of a bowl of cantaloupe, whole wheat toast, and a cup of coffee.  At lunch she ate meat and potatoes.  For dinner she ate a bowl of ice cream--that's it.  So in her honor, I ate an ice cream sandwich last night for dinner...uhmmm plus one chicken nugget and a couple of french fries during our evening children's program at church and oh yeah, a cup of ice cream too.  Okay, so maybe I haven't fully embraced this way of eating, but for sure (fer sure, man) I am taking the Eating Well Breakfast Challenge. Oh yes, I'm gonna eat like a queen (or king).  Would you like to take the breakfast challenge with me?  Go to www.eatingwell.com/go/breakfast.  I'm planning to kick start my new year's resolution into gear...in March!  No time like the present.

one of these days these tennis are gonna walk all over you!

February is proving to be an extremely busy month.  Maybe because it's a short month...oh wait...we have 29 days this year in February, but whatever the reason March is fast approaching.  Slow down, Life!

My February helpful hint for you, Grainiacs, is "old faithful" isn't so bad.  I know we get tired of eating the same thing because we lost x amount of weight eating it; we get tired of the same exercise routine over and over.  I've been there and I've done that.  I got tired of not eating grains.  I wanted me some (I know it's improper grammar but my inner child...now what did I name her? is kicking in) homemade bread.

Okay, back to the basics.  I've had my little mini vacation from "dieting" and now it's back to Walk Away the Pounds.  Have you tried Leslie Sansone's WATP video?  A decade ago (can it really be that long ago?) I lost 30 pounds by following one of WW many programs (I think they've finally settled on a program, don't you?) and walked away the pounds with Leslie.  I'm not saying that this is it; that the pounds will walk off themselves, but I've walked away from it for almost a decade so now it's time to get back on program (now where have I heard THAT before?) and get busy.  Bathing suit season is coming up (yeah, like I'm really worried about it but you might be) and we can do this.  One pound at a time.

I've got my tennis shoes on so I'll catch you, Grainiacs later.  I've got a date with Leslie. "And walk....."

stair Master!

I had an ah ha moment at around 4 a.m. this morning.  Why was I up at that time?  Because I couldn't get back to sleep since letting the dogs out at 3 a.m. and that was the second time I had been up!  They woke me up originally at 2 a.m.  I fell back to sleep but once again woken at 3:00...that was it.  I was up and couldn't get back to sleep.  Unfortunately I awoke at 2 or 3 a.m. the night before.  I am gonna be one cranky strawberry today....I just know it.

But that's not what my post is about today.  My ah ha (no I'm not thanking the pests for this) came on my reflection of Thursday.  After lunch yesterday I hurried back to the office.  I was feeling kind of full anyway but I had to walk up some stairs to turn off the lights and I've got to say "I was winded" after that!  Unfortunately I answer the phones too so I was breathing pretty heavy there.  Maybe that's why so many customers hung up before I got a chance to give them my cheery greeting.  They might have worried they dialed a 1-900 number and got Chastity and her phone sex line!  uh hum.

No, the AH HA is I can make sure I walk up and down those stairs numerous times during the work day and get in some exercise at the same time.  I do a lot of walking back and forth throughout the office (and it ain't that big!) but I need some "stair" motion too.

I wish I wouldn't get these ah ha moments at 4 a.m. though.  It is 6:14 and I'm tired just thinking about it.

TGIF, Grainiacs!!!

The White Stuff

My anti-snow dance isn't working.  A couple of nights ago, we had a powdered sugar blanket of snow sprinkled upon us and life in Rural, USA was just like any day.  Though, I think people pulled out their gloves for the first time this winter season.

little doggie trails

snow in the yard but none in the street...just the way I like it!

Sunday night and into Monday morning, we had a little under 3 inches of snow; this is a little snow piss compared to what I've seen in these parts.  Now even the local radio station is starting to play Christmas music.  Monday, the school called a snow day-- extraordinary; it's like we are now ready to celebrate snow days and Christmas again.  Since moving here, we've had buckets of snow dropped on us with a howling wind as music.  Then the snow turns to ice and then slush and then ice again.  It makes it very hard to walk upright in that kind of weather.  The young slip around; the old...and me, slip and fall.  Not pretty and it hurts!  So you can see why I was dancing a anti-snow dance here.

We were tricked and got lazy about it.  Darn the snow.  We thought the weather would stay the same.  Sunday, Hubby went to Wally-Mart to pick up some ingredients for lunch.  He saw a mass panic of people grabbing bags and bags of salt.  Did he?  Nope, it wasn't on the list so he grabbed the chicken strips and headed for the nearest shortest line.  I guess I'll have to walk softly and carry a big stick to keep myself upright.

A change from the other picture, wouldn't you say?

  All this cold got Hubby cooking (plus yesterday was his day off).  His stew is made of left-over steak, veggies, and a stewed tomato broth.  I say "YUM."

And I can't wait till lunch today.  Maybe I'll even turn on a Christmas CD....nah!

Here's to keeping warm thoughts and insides too.  I hope you are experiencing a mild winter in your neck of the woods.  If not, make some stew and if you are really brave, turn on a Christmas CD or DVD.

Ironing

I was never much for ironing.  Why should I be when I grew up around polyester and wash and wear garments?  I can't even tell you where the iron is.  I was thinking about the phrase "too many irons in the fire" and it didn't have anything to do with women refusing to iron their husbands' shirts....nothing at all like the "burn your bra" mantra.  No, too many irons in the fire has more to do with men not being able to multi-task!  Only it's not just men anymore.  Now it's us women who used to pride ourselves on being able to nurse the baby while pushing a power meeting (you thought I was gonna say vacuum, huh?) agenda around all the while making sure dinner reservations were set and the kids' homework was done.  Whew.  I used to be that women sans "power meeting agendas"....oh, I HAD an agenda all right but it was usually to walk out the door when Hubby arrived home so I could have an hour of peace and quiet at my nearest Sonic for a huge crunchy iced soft drink.  No phone/ no agenda/ NO KIDS/ just me, myself and I.

I found the triplet me alone again this past Saturday.  "Me" didn't need to run to Sonic to hide.  "Myself" was all alone in the house AND the phone wasn't working!  "I" made a list of all I wanted to accomplish.  You might say I had too many irons in the fire on paper and up in my head.  What were we thinking? 

Since I began working, I'm a mess.  I don't have a schedule down (although I've written several posts about getting my act together- I truly think I need a personal assistant!  Any takers?).  My good eating menus are becoming non-existent and WAAAAAAA, I haven't lost a single pound in weeks!!!!  As a matter of fact, I hate to admit but I'm STILL going against my grain!!!!  LOL  I knew this would be a journey and a process full of ups and downs.  I hope you aren't tiring of my whining and babbling....quite frankly I am.

I had good intentions on Saturday.  I had several dieting agendas to take care of.  Instead, I rearranged the living/dining room.  I'm not 100% happy with it, but it is different and I needed a change.  I scrubbed and yes, vacuumed around the area and can claim exercise for all my hard work.  I didn't get around to those dieting good intentions, though.  But I did eat more fruit. on Saturday...not so much on Sunday!

But the good news is today IS truly a new day.  I'm eating a wonderful breakfast and drinking an extremely hot cup of coffee and smiling as I write this post.  I'm alive and live in a permanent press world.  I also have you all as friends; what more could a Strawberry want?!

Here is a photo of my living/dining room.  For those who haven't seen the former; the couch was up against the wall (closest to the photographer...you can also see the green dog leash hanging off to the right of the photo....THAT's the wall!)

My next project is this....

Cover your eyes....it's scary.  Even my hand was shaking while capturing this monstrosity! 

Oh Rats!

This is my grand-rat...yes, you read right.  My college daughter bought a rat (I guess having 3 other roomies in cramped quarters just wasn't enough for her!). My daughter should be a politician!  She roped her roommate (who isn't all that keen on the rat) into knitting the thing a Christmas sweater.  See photo above! She also roped us into taking it to South Texas with us to celebrate Christmas.  Yay....4 grown kids, 2 dogs plus a rat in our old van.  It's a good thing our families love us.  By the way, we paid someone to watch the cats.  If I didn't want to see my daughter cry, I would have paid the person to watch the rat too.  I tried....he strongly declined.  Rat Mom wanted her little critter on my blog so here is the graini-rat.  She...named Trevor...loves grains (don't all rats?).  I turned her on to dog treats....hehehe.  Now Rat Mom gets to purchase bedding stuff and rat pellet food AND dog treats.  hehehehehe...isn't that what grandparents do?  Spoil the little rug rats?  As you can see, I take my position very seriously.  So this post is dedicated to Trevor...my....um,  grandrat!

Running on 7 cylinders

 "Remember, it's only running on 7 cylinders!" Hubby yelled as I was getting into our old van.

"What does that mean?"  I hollered back.

No answer.

I was left to wonder "will it stall in between home and my destination two hours away?"  I must have said it aloud because Hubby answered "it means you won't get the power of running on 8 cylinders."  Well, duh...even non-mechanical me could figure that one out; I just wanted to be sure I wasn't stranded on I-35 with only the cows to help me.

In thinking about Monday, I was definitely running on 7 cylinders.

1) woke up later than usual so began in "rushed" mode
2) took a longer- than- usual shower (figured this out when cold water starting spurting out of spigot. Ah my powers of deduction are sharp in the A.M.!)
3) couldn't figure out what to wear and stood staring at closet for too long
4) dirty dishes from last night still in the sink. Rushed to wash them and wound up slicing my thumb on a knife.
5) rushed to the bathroom to find first aid cream and band aids. Could only find a huge knee-sized band aid so I looked like I lopped off my thumb.
6) couldn't find car keys or house keys in my purse thanks to dumping contents out night before looking for something.  My keys weren't in their usual pockets!
7) didn't have time to eat breakfast at home so ate my scrambled eggs in car on way to work

Thankfully I didn't arrive at work with egg on my face or clothing (I can't swear to what my teeth looked like, though!).

Today, I'm able to run on all 8 cylinders because I was pro-active last night.  I laid out my clothing last night, put last night dishes in the dishwasher, wrote the majority of my blog post, planned my breakfast and lunch for the day, set my name badge and keys in the usual purse pocket so I could find them easily.  So I'm eating my eggs while writing to you fully dressed with keys in the right place and my name badge on.  I used to be able to multi-task.  Not so in this season of my life.  I will plan for my mornings the night before so I'll have time to brush my teeth before my work day.

Tootles for now, Grainiacs.  I'm off to do some brushing!

Faturday

AND Fat Sunday!  This past weekend was an eat-fest for me.  I don't know why.  I had no reason to eat like there was no tomorrow.  I wasn't sad, mad, happy, nervous, okay, well, I might have been a little bored so I'll have to watch that.  I can't even blame it on the Super Bowl.  My team didn't go so I had no reason to party.  Nope, I guess it was just boredom and a royal falling off the wagon.

"How fast can you get back on plan?"  That will be my mantra this week.  Unfortunately I need to weigh in today or tomorrow.  I don't think I can get 5 pounds off in that length of time.

"Forgive yourself; learn from this; and get back on plan ASAP!" is also my mantra for the week.

I can do this.  How about you?  Did you have a great on plan week?  Did you have a Faturday?  (P.S. Dr. Oz sent this word out in an email.  I guess I could blame it on Dr. Oz for putting that notion into my head!  Nah)

GrainiacPeaches sent in more food photos!  She has really been cooking.  Good for you, my friend!!!!  Keep it up.  Let me say I think I'll print these yummy meals off and eat them.  Hey, it's a good way to lose the 5 pounds, right?!?  Unfortunately I don't want to wind up at the vet with garbage gut.  No, I'll go to the store and purchase the ingredients and make these tasty dishes the right way.  I think these photos tell it all.  Mangia!

Skillet Sausage with bell peppers. Look at those colors! drool

Grilled tilapia on a bed of wild rice and barley. Wonderful Omega 3s!

"Clean out your fridge"Frittata

(zucchini, onions, diced ham, a little bit of diced potato, and red and yellow bell peppers)

Are you hungry?  No reason to have a Faturday when you can make these and have a great meal with no guilt in the morning.

1 step forward

So let me tell you about my day

                        Card from Avanti Press $2.99

You've heard of the old adage: 2 steps forward 3 steps back?  My Tuesday was one step out the door into the car and back into the house.  Oops, forgot my jacket.  One step out into the car and out of the driveway and back to the house.  Oops, forgot my new bank name badge (hey, I just got the thing on Monday!)  One step out into the car and out of the driveway all the way to the convenience store, got my caffeine pick me up and back to the house.  Oops, forgot my cell phone (remember I'm keeping close tabs on my eldest!).  All that, and I got to the office 2 minutes late.  Not bad except I'm usually 10 minutes early so I think they'll forgive me for one step or slip up.  I'm hoping this isn't a permanent syndrome.  I blame it on the animals.  There is another old adage or Confucianism that says "no good deed goes unpunished."  My animal good deeds seem to "go punished."  It all started with that damn turtle.  I got out of my car to save its sorry shelled butt and it peed on me.  I have my grandkitties at my house because I didn't want them to be any more traumatized than they already were.  Now they are traumatizing my family!  Have you ever heard a cat having its claws pulled out without anesthesia?  Me either but I think I NOW KNOW what it sounds like!  Big Black Kitty screams and I do mean S-C-R-E-A-M-S at the top of his lungs whenever he sees the other grandkitty whom I'll name Devil Cat.  BBK and DC live together so you'd think they'd be used to each other.  I'm wondering what it's like at my daughter's apt while she's gone?  Do they get along?  Do the neighbors pray my daughter will move and take BBK and DC and soon??!!!  I can only imagine WHAT her neighbors think when they hear BBK go off on his tirade.  They must think she abuses her animals.  I'm really surprised the ASPCA has not been called in before OR possibly this cat interaction is for the grandparents only.  I don't know.  I've always heard the best part of being grandparents is you get to spoil them and send them back home.  We haven't gotten to that part yet over here.  LOL  If this is any indication of what grandchildren will be like.....no thank you!

"Devil Cat"

 What?  Who you calling Devil Cat?  I like who I like and I don't like you!

You put your right paw in; you put your right paw out.

BBK looks like he is doing the hokey pokey.  In actuality he is pacing because he is nervous but at least he isn't screaming at the top of his kitty lungs anymore.

The animal aunts and uncles are well, acting like they always do....

Mr. Garbage Gut

Go ahead; drop it on the ground; I'll eat it; I haven't learned one lesson by going to the vet; nope, drop it and I'll eat it!!!  Please please please.

aye aye aye...too many cats in this house

Poor Brooks looks like HE has garbage gut!  LOL

Kitzilla giving me the "back off" look

Ollie is Oblivious (as usual)

Daughter Update: so far so good.  No more theft/ no more SOBs trying to kick in her door/ her apt owner is letting her break her lease and move.  Praise God all is quiet over there.  So on to the real reason for the blog:

Today is February 1st!  100% OP (on plan), remember?  Let's do this.  No more stepping backwards; it is full speed ahead.  Today my goal is to eat more dairy (I keep typing "diary" so I'm thinking I might need to go hide mine in a better place!).  I also plan to eat more fruit and veggies.  I have a nice huge pot of chicken veggie soup for lunch and now I'm eating my power breakfast: fruit and yogurt parfait.  Yum

Every holiday my Mom gets a request to make this salad/ dessert.  Years ago I tweaked it when I was on a no carb diet (as you will see with my chicken scratchings).  The beauty of this recipe is you can go sugar-free for WW or a no carb variety and it doesn't change the consistency.  Feel free to tweak it to whatever plan you are on. Just whatever you do....ENJOY!  It's yummy and I mean it.