Category: It’s All About…

It’s all about getting your priorities straight!

It’s funny. People ask you what you might want for Christmas and honestly, I really don’t want a lot. When I was asked this recently, my response was:

TIME!

It’s funny, but in my early sixties, I realize that time for me is starting to run out. If I am lucky, I will have 20+ years to enjoy. But since I have never been lucky, I will take it one day at a time.

What’s important in your life? What are the people or the things that make you happy, make your life worth living?

In this, my sixty-second year, I think I have finally figured it all out and gotten my priorities straight.

It’s All About…getting it done!

On Monday I woke with renewed energy. I cleaned out the fridge,  a long-overdue task, and made a list of the things I actually needed at the store. I think the best thing about the fridge cleaning was I identified exactly where the turkey cutlets I cooked two days ago were, as well as the mashed potatoes and green beans. Ta-da! Dinner for Monday night!

If I buy anything more for Christmas it will be for myself. Here we are on the 15th of December and I am done with shopping! Oh, thank you, Amazon and a few other stores I shopped at online!

With all that done early on, I turned to the laundry, which never seems to be really done in this house. It was bed changing day and I wanted to also run my leggings and tops that all need to be dried in my bathroom by hanging them up. No dryer for them.

The groceries needed to be purchased and off I went just before lunch. I breezed through the store and was back in plenty of time to make and eat lunch with Jack.

All in all, I was very busy and, it felt good to be back on my feet and getting things done. As I said, it was just a little cold!

I have big plans for Tuesday. I want to clean out my refrigerator freezer and begin work on my pantry organization!

And of course, there is the need to start wrapping. But I may put that off until Wednesday. I have a few more days to get that done.

Maribeth

Long ago, during a car trip out to Ohio, I brought with me an actual paper filled notebook. Often I get ideas and I jot them down before they are lost in time.

One idea that kept coming back to me was, “It’s All About…”

Certainly life is full of things that make the world go round, but sometimes I think we get lost and forget what “It’s All About.”

As we drove down highway 86 toward Cleveland, we were talking, listening to the radio and of course stopping periodically to use the restrooms.

One thing that made me both smile and frown was the way people, strangers, treated each other. Sometimes good, sometimes bad.

My grandmother always told me to smile and be kind. She said that you never knew when someone needed a lift and that your smile might be the only one they see all day.

Kindness comes in many shapes and forms. Being polite, stopping to help someone, or when a dining-room is full of all sorts of people attending reunions, sharing a table.

I’ve been on my own crusade since 9/11. Every time I am in a restaurant, an airport, or perhaps shopping, when I see a member of the military, I stop for one moment and thank them for their service.

Recently, I saw two old men, with their military company’s emblem on their hats. They were World War II soldiers. They were talking, both had canes and you could see that the years had been tough for them.

I went over and smiled broadly, and thanked them both. One of the men got quite misty, and they both thanked me.

My smiles and helpful ways are not limited to the military. I am always on the lookout for older people in the grocery store who cannot reach the top shelves. As I am 5 feet 8 inches tall, with long (monkey) arms, I can reach everything pretty easily.

Of course in these Covid-19 times it’s hard to smile at someone and have them actually see it. I may have to draw a smile on each paper mask I wear!

I swear, Kindness is contagious! And so are smiles. Just like my Grandma Honey always told me.

It’s All About…Kindness

Recently, a friend of mine, who lives at a distance asked me what I’ve been eating while in isolation, that has me losing weight?

My sister Mel & Me Christmas.  /  Me. Taken 2 days ago.

I’ve lost close to 36 pounds. It’s not always easy, but I am determined to get to my goal. I truly want to be the best me that I can.  I will detail it a bit for her and for you.

Before I get started I need to mention I am following the Weight Watchers (Green Plan). It’s the one plan where counting your points and weighing and measuring is important.

My favorite breakfast is my Banana Pancakes. It’s made with 2 tbs of Kodiak Pancake mix, 1/4 cup of egg whites, 1 tsp vanilla, 1 package of Splenda, a sprinkling of cinnamon, and 1 medium banana. Mix all together and cook in a frying pan that has been sprayed with non-stick spray.

I love this and it is my preferred main course at breakfast. I also eat fat-free yogurt and a mix of berries. The total points for this meal, and my coffee with fat-free creamer, is 5 points.

Lunch is mostly vegetables. My favorite veggie is Eggplant. Even during this isolation time, I have been able to get beautiful eggplant.

I roast it, and then have it with a garden salad.

I also drink copious amounts of herbal teas. Since I am not a fan of water, the herbal teas are nice.

My snacks are mostly fruit. I wrote about my love of Koru Apples and I am good for 1-2 of those a day.

Dinner (supper) is where I get a bit point heavy. Chicken, turkey, or fish tend to be lower in points (and favorites). I have pretty much given up pork, but really do enjoy a good steak. So, I eat beef once in about 10 days.

I will eat two veggies at dinner. Usually a freshly made vegetable, or a salad, with a leftover vegetable from the day before.

Dessert is a Yasso Frozen Yogurt Bar. Yummy!

Now here are a few things I don’t do. I pretty much have given up on carbs. I do not metabolize them like most people. If I do have anything, it’s perhaps a low carb/calorie bread to make a tuna sandwich. But pasta and potatoes and I just do not get along.

I am never hungry. If I do feel like eating then salads or apples give me the desired crunch!

I have great recipes that I fall back on, and every day I commit to making this new WW Plan work for me.

One thing is for sure. Eating the fresh fruit, vegetables, and healthy proteins have me feeling pretty darn good. I sleep better at night and actually have more energy during the day.

I went back to my Optometrist on Friday and my eye is healing very slowly. Due to that, I still have the special contact lens in and will return to see him on Monday at 12:30.

It’s really funny when I think of all the weird medical things that have been happening during the Pandemic.

All three dogs have had issues, my blasted eye, and Jack ran out of patio blocks and was threatening to go out in search of them until I found them three towns over.

So despite the fact that we are supposed to be sheltering at home, I certainly have been out quite a bit.

I have two things I need to handle next week. Two bits of stupidness. Two bills that never should have been sent. So on Monday, I will spend probably more time than I care to admit, being on the phone to handle these two bills.

I’m also thinking about getting an Air Fryer. Does anyone have one they like? Make and Models and a little about them would be greatly appreciated.

I hope you are having a great weekend!

Monday morning dawned early and bright. I woke in a very good mood since I had planned out the systematic attack of all my duties for the day!

I walked the dogs, put out the bird feeders and then made my banana pancake. Have I mentioned my banana pancake? It’s so good and made with one mashed up banana, a little vanilla, 1/4 cup of egg whites and a teaspoon of Splenda. I mixed it all together and poured it into a preheated frying pan, that’s been sprayed with non-stick spray. OMG! So good!

After that, I pulled my two-tone hair into a little pony-tale and then put a kerchief on my head.

I packed up the car with the week’s recyclables and put on my country version of a Hazmat Suit, and off I went to get everything accomplished.

The Recycling Center was nearly deserted, so I breezed through and got it all deposited in the proper areas.

I came back to the car, removing my gloves and placing them in my trash bag. I then used hand sanitizer and drove the few miles to my local grocery store, where I carefully went through the shop, buying all we would need for the next 10 days. It was not cheap, but I try hard to plan everything out so I do not need to go out during the week.

As soon as I left the store I took off my gloves, deposited them in the trash, and used my hand sanitizer. (I left my mask on the entire time)

I drove to the Post Office and picked up a week’s worth of mail.  Once again I removed my gloves as I have been shown and deposited them in the trash. I then got out my Clorox wipes and wiped off the door handle, steering wheel, my hands, and the keys.

Coming home, I did my usual removal of clothes in the basement and showering before moving the food in and taking care to make sure it was properly handled

And I looked at the clock and it was 12:15 and I had managed to get it all done early! And I was exhausted! However, I felt pretty good about having accomplished so much, safely, in such a short time.

It brightened my spirits because I have started to feel like we will actually make it through this very scary time.

I’ve also learned that I am one tough cookie who can handle just about anything, and find my way through.

I woke up on Monday morning and started my day. It’s part of my morning routine to get my coffee, walk the dogs and then come in and check my email.

As I sat to look through my email, my laptop started doing weird things. It started to shut off all on its own, or disconnect from the Wifi. After the fourth or fifth time, I’d had it! Especially when attempting to do work on Dackel Princess. I’d be in the middle of something and then Bam! I would lose everything to the silly, stupid laptop!

When Jack got out of bed I told him that I want a new laptop. He started to hem and haw, but I told him to forget about it. He has had 2 laptops to my one. And I have had this current one since 2012. It is time for a new machine.

That being said, technology has changed. This found me reading and studying new gadgets and gizmos so I would know what I would need.

I decided that I needed to buy a machine to grow into. There are three Dell Computers that fit my needs at three different prices.

I need to toss out the top of the line, and probably the bottom and buy the middle. It needs to be soon as I believe that this problem will A. Drive me insane, and B. Eventually just plain die on me!

Wish me luck!

.

…De-stressing

Yesterday I decided that I needed to chill. Quite honestly, I have been stressed about things that I have no control over. I needed to try to relax and find my tranquility.

So I made a couple of nice meals during the day, went out and did a few errands, which included a short trip to the Recycling Center to bring our old cracked patio chair in, and I stopped at the local grocery store.

I’m actually in this smaller Hannaford’s quite a bit. So much so that I know a lot of the people who work there. People say hello and smile at me and even joke with me and that is such a great feeling.

Yesterday the manager had a small bag of M&M’s and it was a mystery flavor. She had the crew at the grocery check out all trying to guess what flavor it was. She looked at me and asked if I wanted to join the fun? I did, so I tried a piece. Hmmm. I could taste a malted chocolate taste, but also a creamy rich filling. “Candy Corn” I pronounced! And I was right!

I came back home and worked on crafts for the rest of the afternoon. I put on two movies. “She’s Having a Baby” with Kevin Bacon and Elizabeth McGovern, from 1988 and “When Harry Met Sally” with Billy Cyrstal and Meg Ryan from 1989.

Both I have seen a number of times, so it was nice and easy for me to “watch” while I crafted.

My day ended with me going around and clock adjusting, as our time changed. We all fell back an hour. Now it will be a little more light in the morning, but darkness will fall much faster in the afternoon.

Today, I plan almost a repeat of yesterday, with the exception of not needing to go to the grocery store.

Have a great Sunday everyone!

After standing at the sink with my hands in flocked rubber gloves, washing dishes three times a day, I wondered what man I should be thanking for my automatic dishwasher.

Well, low and behold, when I looked up who invented the automatic dishwasher I discovered that a woman had invented this cherished device!

Josephine Garis Cochran invented the first useful dishwasher in Shelbyville, Ill., and received patent # 355,139 on December 28, 1886. Cochrane, a wealthy woman who entertained often, wanted a machine that could wash dishes faster than her servants, and without breaking them.

Thank you, Ms. Cochran!

I’m amazed that this woman not only designed the machine but with help from a mechanic built it and then marketed it to hotels and restaurants. Kitchen Aid would eventually puy her patent.

So either Tuesday or Wednesday the parts to fix my machine should be here, but in the long run It’s been interesting to learn something about a product I have used since I was in 4th grade and never knew was invented by a woman!

In the last few weeks, I have been thinking a lot about the whole weight loss journey that I have been on for the better part of eleven years. I have had times when I found great success, but it cost me a great deal as far as what I wanted to eat and what I could. Like a petulant child, I wanted what I wanted and points be damned.

However, very recently, I started to look inward at the long term effects of being overweight, at the kinds of food I was putting into my body, and how I could achieve a healthier weight, without missing out on the things I like and enjoy.

It’s called balance.

So, I memorized the zero point foods and I stopped counting points. I mean, I knew how many points I could have in a day, but I tried to plan, enjoy and live with the foods I loved.

Of course, this made me look at my food preparation, what things to eat, and how I could balance the foods in my life.

Diced chicken sauteed with onions, peppers, and mushrooms, served with riced cauliflower with peas and carrots!

Fruits and vegetables have become good friends! Fish and Chicken are in my fridge and freezer, awaiting preparation.

Sauteed zucchini, summer squash, onions, peppers, and mushrooms, with a piece of broiled swordfish.

Every day, I have considered what I wanted to accomplish. If I feel hungry, I drink. I know what I am eating has filled me up, so it isn’t real hunger, but just casual, mindless, eating.

I’m doing well. I’m doing better than expected. And I feel very relaxed about it all. I like the direction this new attitude is taking me.

I feel no pressure to count points, and I also do not feel under pressure to lose X Pounds by X Month. It’s slow and steady and I do not feel anxious about it all.

This is the first positive freedom I have felt about my weight ever. I have been so hung up on either losing or gaining that I was coming to really hate my body. Oh, how cruel we can be to ourselves.

So, this new attitude, has me happy and smiling and enjoying life! And loving my body once again.

So remember, in the end, it’s all about balance and loving your imperfect self!