Category: My Life

The Definitions of Dieting
Or Why Diets Are So Tough…

1. Salads I know I will be eating a salad at least once per day. Don’t get me wrong. I like salad, but I don’t like to eat them ALL the time.

2. Lean meats. Mostly I eat lean meats anyway. But I sure do like my juicy hamburgers!

3. Fish. I, of course, like the expensive stuff, like Lobster, Shrimp and Crab. I will simply have to learn to love Scrod and Haddock.

4. Water. Well, until I discovered Dasani and Fruit-2-O waters I really had trouble drinking that much water. Now I can get down enough water to make the diet work.

5. I will miss my chocolate! I love chocolate so much. I have often said that should we find the world would end tomorrow I would get as much dark chocolate as possible and every bottle of Tokai and go out with a smile on my face!

6. I will miss my cheap bread. Nothing like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on wonder bread. This diet requires whole wheat/whole grain bread. I somehow doubt that my PB&J will taste the same on that!

7. Exercise. Shoot. I wish I could miss that. But alas, I know I need to get out there and start walking with the puppies. I still maintain that exercise is a 4 letter word not to be uttered in mixed company! LOL

8. Sugar Free Jello-O. Yeah, that’ll be my “treat”. Now Jello never did it for me as a kid, and now I’m supposed to be all happy because I can eat the sugar free stuff twice a day!

9. Vegetables. Well, I do like a lot of veggies and my garden will be producing in about a month. I am so looking forward to that!

10. I will spend time trying new recipes. Perhaps I can actually find some new skinny recipes that taste good. If I do, I will share it with you all.

11. Ever notice how the diet recipes all start with a vegetable? Why not chocolate?

12. I plan to keep a diary on my computer of my weight, what I eat and the pounds lost.

13. When I weigh close to my goal weight I shall share it all with you. For now, knowing I am pleasingly plump will have to suffice. LOL

The day started earlier than usual because of my aches. I got up and started moving, with hope that I would loosen up. Ha! All I did was ache some more. I am nearly done with the [painting and the room looks good. Stay tuned for some pictures later in the week.

Once I was done with that, Emily came over and I was talked into having a cookout here at 1 PM. I had hot-dogs and I had just made potato salad, so I just needed some hamburgers and rolls and I was good to go. I also made my “Double Chocolate Pie” and Wow was that a good dessert for a summer day. (see recipe below).

Now I am sitting tired and almost ready for bed. I think I will sleep like Sleeping Beauty. I am that tired!

Oh sweet Mother Of God! Do I ache!

I had decided a couple of weeks ago to repaint the puppy room. It had taken a beating when the puppies owned the room, and so I wanted to clean it up and put a fresh coat of something delicious on the walls.

I selected “Cinnamon Coffee Cake” from Home Depot as the color in a nice eggshell finish. I knew it would warm the place up a little, as stark white can be a bit too bright.

Now back when Hubby and I built the house in 1998-99 I did all the painting. Inside and outside. There was no ladder that I didn’t climb and no job too big or too small. In fact I also hand dipped the 12 thousand shingles that Hubby hammered onto our house.

Now that was 9 years ago. I was about the same weight, but I was 9 years younger and well, I was 9 years YOUNGER!

In the middle of my personal painting chaos, Emily arrived with a friend and they were looking for a project. No I did not draft them to paint (although every fiber of my being craved foisting this job on them!) I had them make Brownies and Chocolate Chip cookies to bring to our shut in neighbor tomorrow. The girls had a blast making the goodies, and even though I got stuck with the clean up I felt good at helping them at the same time I was painting. These kids think I am fantastic because I make things from scratch and not slice and bake cookies, etc.

Click on the image to see the difference in color)

My little job took me all day. I still have more to do. However, I was too tired to finish it up today.

I made dinner and after I got done with that, I crawled into the bathtub and soaked for over half an hour. I came out only because I threatened to shrivel up and become one of the dancing California Raisins!

I still ache now, but will make myself an hermal tea and hope for an early bedtime tonight!

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HAIR
This is probably one theme I could write and produce page after page about. Those of you who know me know I am always worried, crazy or unsatisfied with my hair. I actually have pretty nice hair, but being the “hair perfectionist” that I am, I am seldon happy with it.

This was taken when I was 13 years old. I am with my dogs, Baby and Laurie. My hair was down to my waist and I remember it being very heavy when I swam or washed it.

When the girls were small I had shoulder length hair. It was easy and still made me look young. From there I grew it back out, and Hubby’s first memory of me was when I had waist length hair again. That did not last, as when I had my car accident I had to cut it short for the plastic surgery to repair my ear and the places that were stitched up.

I kept my hair this length for probably the last 15 years. I know, boring. But I’ve been busy. In February of 2006 I got the worst hair cut of my life. The woman left only about 1 inch of hair on my head!The only good thing about this picture was that it is the last picture taken of me with my Shubi.

I started to grow my hair that very day!
By December 2006, when the puppies came, my hair had grown out a bit.

And now, here we are in June 2007 and I can actually put my hair into a short little pig tail on the back of my head. But most of all, I look like a girl again!

And I will keep growing it for a while. I sort of like looking like a girl!

In recent days there has been quite a controversy about the release of the pictures of Princess Diana in her car after the accident. One news show gave you all the key words to use in Google to find them. Did I follow the link and go and look? Yes I did.

Why?

I asked myself this question as I stared at the photo. Because in my minds eye I could see myself.
You see 22 years ago today I was involved in a terrible car accident. I have written about it here. It’s a time of my life that I no longer dwell on (not too much anyway) but it is always with me.

Usually on June 13th I write about my feelings of loss for Katie and I tell you all about how wonderful she was (and she was) and how much I miss her (which I really do). All of this is true, and to a certain extent it is even more painful as the years have gone by. I think of the times I would have had, if she had lived. I think of what she would be like as a grown woman. Yes, the feelings inside of me can overwhelm at times.

As I put together this montage of her pictures I noted with great sadness that there are no more new pictures of Katie. And Amanda and I have grown and changed over the last 22 years. Life has gone on for us, but sadly, not for her.

The music in this montage is sort of interesting. You see one day I drove to pick Katie up at kindergarten and when she saw the car she started jumping up and down waving at me. I can still see that when I hear this song. The lyrics, which many people have never heard, can be found in the extended entry.

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

I chose to live in the present now. I allow myself two days a year (the anniversary of the accident and Katie’s birthday) to remember, to grieve and to wallow a bit, but it is hard.

She had the most beautiful red curls and dancing green eyes and a little voice that made one think of Leprechauns. She wasn’t perfect, but she was special and sweet and she was my daughter.

The accident forever changed me, and Amanda, but from the ashes of our previous lives, like a Phoenix, we have risen to make a good, happy life in the present.

But you just never forget that time, those events…

…or that wonderful little girl.

Kathleen Alynne

Continue reading “Remembering”

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SHOES

These are my gardening/going out with the puppy/rain clogs! They are the most comfortable clogs and have served me well. Currently they are covered in grass because the lawn is newly mowed.
These little babies have been a real Godsend, because as those of you with puppies know, there are times you need to get the puppy out in a few seconds, and I can literally step into these shoes and run out the door.

Yes folks, I’m back. After taking a few weeks off I am back to making some new Thursday Thirteen lists. Here we go. The first one back is:

The Boston Edition

1– I went to Boston yesterday.
2-Thankfully Hubby drove me. The traffic was heavy.
3– We finally found a parking spot on the second to the last level of the parking garage.
4– We went to a great Indian Restaurant called Tantric for lunch.
5– The food was fabulous!!!
6– My eyes were examined and they made a topographical map of their surface.
7– My left eye, which was operated on in August ’06 is doing great. My right eye showed a few problems.
8– Dr. W. wants me to return to my Retinal Surgeon, Dr. C. for further treatment.
9– I feel pretty nervous and scared.
10-The trip out of the city was equally as hectic.
11-We stopped to grocery shop and pick up the makings for fondue.
12-Came home, walked the dogs, Hubby mowed the lawn (It looks great!) and I put dinner together.
13-Then some mindless TV before bed.