Ten Percent!

FINALLY made my 10 % weight loss goal at weight watchers...Yipppeee!  Still on track with my wagers.  Ah, but would the Weight Watcher Gods be upset if the knew that I don't count points?  Don't they know how crazy it is to transfer everything you eat into points!??   I still count calories.  Easier.  I use my fitness pal to track, because it has a terrific food data base.  I wish weight watchers had something for those of us who just can't take the point thing!  Well, they do sort of.  I'm eating primarily "power foods" that don't have to be counted with points.  Just not eating any junk food.  Makes a difference!  So now it is bedtime.  No time left to eat tonight, Thank Goodness!

A Great Wager on my head!

Diet Bet! Make dollars to lose pounds!
http://bit.ly/PXFjmB

	"But my lord, his majesty bade me signify to you that he has laid a great wager on you head"   (Hamlet, Act V, Scene II) So my favorite celebrity these days, Hungry Girl, (Lisa Lillien) has stirred up excitment about making money to lose weight!  Of course, I am already a fan, and on my way with my small wagers.  So check it out!  For less than the cost of a month at Weight Watchers ($25) you might even lose to win!
	http://bit.ly/PXFjmB

'Tis one thing to be tempted, another thing to fall.

Ah yes, I keep being tempted!   All those yummy looking brownies at work the other day.  And tonight, candy addicts surrounded me!  But I didn't fall!  In 4 weeks I've had 2 mini hershey bars and 2 andes mints.  Holding off the chocolate cravings with a daily dose of Chocolate Protein drink.  How do all those other girls stay so skinny?  Back on track with healthy wage, but it will be close!  Need to lose about 2 lbs a week until 11-22 to win my bet.  Need to get friendly again with my Jillian Michaels 3 in 1 stepper! 

Ambition should be made of sterner stuff

Got off track a little with my Healthy Wage when we went on vacation.  But rafting down the Green River in Utah put some of that ambition back in me.  Ah...what a vision....me with the paddle in my hand...weighing down the back to keep us steady...(Good thing I didn't fall in---the thing would probably have flipped!)

Unsteady steps to see the petroglyphs on the McConkey Ranch in Utah.  Ran into strangers from Ohio who asked "are you OK."  Face red as a beet, gasping for air as if it was my last breath.

Ran into the SAME COUPLE the next day.  Hundreds of miles away hiking in Dinosaur National Monument from the Colorado side.  There must be a reason for coincidence!  "You look better today," he said.  He was obviously pleased that he wouldn't have to employ any CPR skills.  But, I made it too the end of the hike!  (And got back, too)  Several strangers along the way didn't get that far.  Wahoo!  I think i can, I think I can, I think I can...I KNOW I can!

Gold that's put to use more gold begets...

Foul cankering rust the hidden treasure frets,
But gold that's put to use more gold begets.
~William Shakespeare, Venus and Adonis, 1593

So I am following good ol' Will's advice and putting my money to work.  My 401K certainly hasn't done well, so I've made a new investment....I joined the 10% Healthy Wage Challenge.  For $100, I will double my money if I lose 10% of my weight within 6 months.

Piece of cake...oops, maybe I'd better say, "bunch of broccoli..."

At least I have some control over this.  So, I need help from all my friends and family.  Encourage me to blog...it keeps me focused.   And please don't bring me any peanut butter and chocolate ice cream.  Keep me away from the snacks at work!  Don't take me out for Mexican food for dinner! 

Now, to sleep, perchance to dream!

Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn and cauldron bubble

"Fillet of a fenny snake,
In the cauldron boil and bake;
Eye of newt and toe of frog,
Wool of bat and tongue of dog,
Adder's fork and blind-worm's sting,
Lizard's leg and owlet's wing,
For a charm of powerful trouble,
Like a hell-broth boil and bubble."

Yummmmmmy!!!!!  Is this what I'm conjuring up?.... into MY cauldron went the left over tomatoes, beets, red and yellow peppers, carrots, cilantro, onion, garlic, and a bit of Worchestershire Sauce and Tabasco.  Had some broccoli too, but I'm feeding that to the rabbits outside.  Nix on the old romaine...the rabbits can have that too.  Having the mushrooms for breakfast with eggwhites.  Almost have the fridge cleaned out!  Have the crockpot on low until morning.  I will do those witches proud!

(Macbeth, Act 4, Scene 1)

Doesn't that just "beet" all?

OH, so today i find myself with apricots, strawberries, tomatoes, and beets that all need to be eaten verrrrry soon.  Memories of the vitamix guy at the fair blending up everything that could have gone down the kitchen sink (through the disposal, of course) came to my mind.  Hmmmm....why not a beet-apricot-berry-tomato smoothie?
So, I chopped up the apricots (actually mashed...they were getting a little mealy), threw in some strawberries, cut up a beet....my little Magic Bullet was getting pretty full, so I added a little milk...no room for the tomatoes.  I added a little ginger paste and some stevia...Viola!  Breakfast!  Yes, the beets made it a bit earthy.  I checked for ideas online.  Looks like oranges might be the fruit of choice with beets.

Well, I didn't need to get rid of my oranges.  They are hanging happily on the tree.  Maybe tomorrow!

Stay tuned for this afternoon.   Still have more beets and have to do something with those tomatoes!

Steppin' with the Stars

I used to love to dance....not the dancing that came with Jr High and High School (Friday Nighters anyone?), but the ballroom stuff I learned at Call's Dance Studio.  Unfortunately, there were never too many people to dance with.  Guess I was born 20 years too late, and now, it seems, 40 years too soon!

I used to dance the Swing and the Cha Cha with Daddy.  His dance was the Jitterbug...the swing was close enough for me.  In college, I used to dance at the Officers' Club with my friend Bill North of the Air Force ROTC.   Wonder what has become of him?  

So, I watch these folks dancing with heels yet!  I get winded walking up the stairs, and there they are dancing and jumping over the treads.  So, I got out my trusty Jillian Michael's 3-in-one stair stepper, and stepped along during the dances.  A long way to go before I could dance again......

"I'm never gonna dance again
Guilty feet have got no rhythm
Well it's easy to pretend
I know I'm not a fool"

Well, since I know I'm not a fool, I guess I'd better Keep On Steppin'!

Eternal Celebrations

So, after Christmas, vacation in Puerto Rico, Valentine's Day, Easter, Delegates' Conferences out of town, and the National Genealogical Conference in Ohio, I have now found two whole Chihuahuas back on my body!  Using the excuse that I would get back on my diet regime "after....this or that..."  I found myself just gaining more weight. Obviously, that tactic does not work!  There is always another vacation, another business trip, another wedding, another birthday, another (insert name of celebration here). 

I also wish to honor here the memory of my dear little brother, who left us in March.  This stark reality of human mortality should have made me much more attuned to my own errant ways, but I'm just now taking the time to ponder that.

So, recognizing that I am not super-human, and need to practice self control both in eating and daily practices, I continue with this life long quest.  I say continue rather than begin again, because it is obviously an "always" thing!  Need to change that old thinking (like, if I mess up one day, it's all over....so, what the heck....who cares....etc).

So, off to Claim Jumper today, to see how I do....Yep, it's another celebration.  A  gathering of the sibs with Ma for a  late Mothers' Day Celebration.

Hmmmm....should I send the link to this post to my fellow celebrants  BEFORE or AFTER dinner?