Category: My Life

Apple Sauce

Hubby and I sliced, and cleaned apples today so we could make apple sauce. Once it was done, we put the sauce in plastic freezer bags and we put it in the deep freeze. We put together 2 big batches, with the help of the twins, and got it all put up.

Oct 11 001

Oct 11 003

This year instead of using sugar we used Splenda. As Hubby is diabetic and I am a Weight Watcher, we decided that this was at least, worth trying. WOW! It came out great. The nice thing is, with the Splenda, I can have some all measured out and it is point friendly!

On another bright and nice note I received a Halloween Treat from Hootin’ Annie.

halloweengiftHA2

I am honored by this and will now include it in my sidebar for the month of October!

About The Eye

I have had several people write and ask me about my recently posted eye pictures. I wrote about it a long time ago, but many of you have joined me since then. So let me post this link which will tell you the story of what happened to me, and my poor little eye back in 2002.

little shot

I’m quite lucky now. I have most of my vision, and my distance vision is perfect. About the only deficit I have is with my peripheral vision, and there isn’t much we can do about that. After what I went through I am very happy to have as much of my vision as I do have.

Yes, it was a very scary thing to go through. I can safely say that one of the greatest of all of my senses is my vision. To not be able to see the beauty around me would break me. So I thank God each and every day for doctors gifted and dedicated enough to have been able to operate and restore what was so cruelly taken from me.

The eyes are both doing well now and I simply have yearly visits to make sure that the eyes are remaining healthy.

Trust me, I will never again take my vision for granted!

Dackels & Errands

It was Dackel Day today.

Hubby took his White German Shepherd to the park to work, as it was a parks clean up day, and since I had errands to run, I tossed all three dachshunds into the car and off we went. We drove to the next town and I sent off a package via UPS to a friend of mine. I wanted it packed extra special in the safety department and trackable from here to her door.

Oh the dackels loved this. Anneliese sat next to the arm rest between the seats, Arnie sat in the middle of the seat and Greta sat next to the door standing up on the armrest so she could look out. It was the cutest thing!

We stopped at the bank and I cashed a check and the nice clerk passed along dog cookies for the three beasts! How good is this?

Then we stopped at a Craftsman’s shop in town. These lovely ladies all adore my dogs and enjoy when we stop in for a visit. I took one in at a time and each dog was fawned over!

I was running late by then and just ran into the Post Office, grabbed the mail and rushed out.

I must note here that the only place to park near the Post Office was in front, BUT I had to parallel park. Now I would rather go without food than parallel park, but today I simply was running late and I HAD to do it.

And you know what? I did a picture perfect job. I mean I was so good I could have passed a driving test! I am still walking on air. I was telling Hubby and he reminded me that this was a one out of a hundred attempts and I was not to get cocky! LOL!

I made a big pot of chicken soup and took care of one more problem before I could sit down for a cup of tea.

In the mail we got the second request for documentation that Hubby and I are, in fact, married. About a month ago the company Hubby used to work for, and from whom we still get our medical insurance, wrote asking for the front page of last years Income Tax as proof we were married. I photo copied the page (and blacked out all the income) and sent it in. Flash forward to today. They want a copy of our marriage license. So I dragged that out (after 20 years!) and faxed that to them too.

I can only wonder what will be next!

Food

Okay, I know that you all have been dying to know how I did with my diet during my trip into Amish Country. Pennsylvania Dutch cooking is simple, homemade and just plain delicious. This is the kind of food that makes a Weight Watcher shake with fear!

And shake I did!!!

Now I tried to be good. I had packed Weight Watchers yogurt and Weight Watchers snack bars to keep me honest. On the first day I even made myself a turkey sandwich on diet bread. Oh, I was feeling strong!

Then came the dinner at the Angus Beef Steak house where I chowed down on Beef Wellington, which I sort of felt I could get away with because I didn’t have a baked potato with my meal, just a garden salad and no dessert. The next morning, however, I totally screwed up.

Pancakes, maple syrup and bacon!!!

Okay, I could get through this. I’d just make it up at lunch. What did they serve? Pulled Pork sandwiches, chips and cookies. I was good. I didn’t eat the cookies!

That night the banquet was amazing. The most delicious chicken cordon bleu ever, with baby red bliss potatoes in butter sauce, corn and green beans, salad and for dessert, triple chocolate mousse cake!

Yes, I knew then that I would burn in hell.

I also did not watch what I ate when we visited our friends in the Catskills. She is a remarkable German cook and I enjoyed every single bite of her cooking. Yes, every single bite!

So, what happened to me as a result? I gained a pound for all of my transgressions.

I’ve now hopped back onto the Weight Watchers train, and I am taking care of myself again. It makes me realize just how easy it is to slip back into old and bad habits.

Time to get out the carrot and celery sticks!

Time……

Okay, who stole the summer?

I was walking Emily back up to her house tonight and the air was cool and crisp and as the sun was setting, I noticed bright red leaves had fallen under my feet.

It’s Autumn. It’s really Autumn, and soon the winds will blow and the snow will fall and it will be WINTER!

When I was a little girl I remember thinking that each day was an eternity long. Each year, between birthdays seemed endless. I thought I would never grow up, never have a drivers license or get married and have children. I was going to be forever in first grade!

The time did pass and little by little these things all happened. I got my license, got married, had 2 beautiful children, and the days passed me by. Still, back in my twenties I felt that time was still going rather slowly.

Then one day I woke up and bam, I’m 49 years old! The year between 49 and 50 has flown by and soon it’s going to be winter and I’ll be 50!

So what happened? Does the world just start to spin faster the older you get?

Meanwhile, as I contemplate the time and space continuum, I remind you all once again that we leave tomorrow for the German Dog Show, also known as a Zuchtschau.

Sept. 23 002

Anneliese is packed and ready to go. I’ll be writing on Saturday night to report in on how things went.

The Incredible Shrinking Woman!

I’ve been consciously working each and every day to get to my goal at Weigh Watchers. Most recently I decided to watch my carbs a bit more and eat more fruit for the same number of points. I’ve been rewarded by two weeks with very good weight losses. Last week I was down 1.2 pounds and today, 2.2. What does this mean? It means I have just 4 pounds to go to my goal weight!!!

I’m pretty happy about this. That is probably a great understatement. You see a year ago I was really unhappy at the weight I was. I didn’t like the fact that my clothes were tight (and getting tighter) and my cheeks looked very much like a chipmunk! I also didn’t feel well. I had no energy and felt quite lethargic.

I’d thought about Weight Watchers for a while, but I felt like if I failed at one more thing, I would have a melt down.

Christmas came and New Years was on the way, so I looked up where the closest meeting was and I planned. Right after New Years I was going to go. I was also not going to miss a meeting unless I was in Intensive Care! And I haven’t missed one meeting.

It has not always been easy, and I have had weeks when I did everything right and didn’t lose an ounce! However, I kept going and I didn’t give up.

Now it is so close. My goal weight. The weight I have wanted to be for the longest time. It’s really happening!

I am the Incredible Shrinking Woman!!!

Just One Of Those Days

I got up today and started things off by burning my finger on the coffee maker. Don’t even ask me how I did this, as I am too embarrassed to tell. Let’s just say it isn’t a pretty sight and hurts like heck.

After that there was a series of unfortunate incidents that found me wanting to rush back to bed and hide there for the rest of the day!

Hubby joked with me about it all until he realized I was really feeling down. Then he asked me if I wanted to go out to lunch at the Chinese buffet before we did our weekly shopping.

He didn’t have to ask me twice.

I love eating at the buffet because I can always find a good selection of things to eat and stay within my points. Today they served Alaskan King Crab Legs, and so I was in heaven!

As we sat at the very end of the meal with our fortune cookies, I opened mine and this was what I read: “Very soon you will reach your goal”.

I smiled because I have just 7 pounds more to go on Weight Watchers and then I will reach my goal!

We shopped, fueled up the car, and then headed home.

The remainder of the day has been nice and a lot less stressful. I managed to cook dinner without burning myself again, and Hubby installed a great new light switch in our room that has a dimmer switch.

Five days until we leave for the Dog Show!

I’m Tired

I think somewhere along the Pennsylvania Turnpike I became old. It was around then that I realized that I was really tired. You know, the kind of tired that makes you want to get into your softest pajamas, curl up in your bed, with your own blankets and pillows and stay there for say, a week!

Despite the exhaustion I did get up this morning, showered and then hit the road to go to my Weight Watchers meeting.

Was I an Angel during my trip? Ah, no. I did try, however, to eat at least two meals on the plan and then choose carefully what I would eat for dinner.

Of course the Mexican Restaurant Madness wasn’t exactly my finest moment. Re-fried beans, cheeses of all kinds and tortilla chips just jumped down my throat and all I could do to save myself was to swallow!

The next night I had a salad, and the following night sliced meats and salads. On Saturday Hubby and I went to Dan Dierdorf’s Restaurant and while Hubby had Prime Rib, I had ELK! Yes, ELK! I like game, and I’d never tried ELK before and if Sarah can eat it, then so can I! Actually, in the end, the ELK was stuffed with boursin cheese and then served with a Madeira sauce. What a delight.

The banquet meal consisted of rubber chicken (they also had a beef tenderloin that I hear was excellent!), scalloped potatoes and cheese cake. I can proudly admit to sending my cheese cake back after a few bites.

But I just knew I was going to gain ten pounds, and burn in hell for my eating habits during the trip.

**A note here, I ate breakfast in our room and had Weight Watchers yogurt and a Weight Watchers breakfast bar, and lunch was almost always a salad or point friendly sandwich.**

This morning I was rewarded with a 1.2 pound weight loss! Could it be all the walking I did? Was I really more in control than I thought? I am not sure, but I do know that somehow I turned my first big trip away from my safe kitchen into a positive experience!

So now I need to catch my breath and rest up a bit. In a week and a half we take Anneliese to Pennsylvania for her time at the German Dog Show. Hopefully she will do as well as her mother and brother.

Pennsylvania Turnpike, here I come!

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(If anyone in the Reading/Hamburg, PA area is interested in attending the show and meeting Miss Anneliese, who will be signing autographs, please e-mail me and I will send you the directions. The show is on September 27th at 10 o’clock in the morning.)