annemariedemyen

Daily Food Diary – Day 139 of 365

May 20, 2025May 20, 2025 by annemariedemyen, posted in 2025, Health and Fitness

It is 139 Days since I began posting my Daily Food Diary! 😎

I completed my round of antibiotics and Prednisone for my recent bout of bronchitis, but the struggle is real. This Saskatchewan rainy season that we are caught up in is just killing me. (Or at least annoying the heck out of my compromised lungs).

One positive of being on the aged side, is that we always have past experience to draw from.

Many years ago, I was driving home from the town where my parents lived. I had been there to see my Mother and my Father (who was in the hospital dying after a four and a half year ordeal with sinus cancer). The weather was brutal – white out blizzard conditions with temperatures in the minus 40 range. I was driving a sketchy little sedan with NO working heater. And… I was driving home to a marriage that was way past its best before date.

I reached a point where I was pretty sure I wasn’t going to make it. I thought of my parents, thought of the three kids I would be leaving to fend for themselves. I cried. (It was ugly).

Then I saw a roadsign a few yards ahead and I decided that I could make it to that sign. I made it home (obviously) one sign at a time. And I learned one of the most invaluable lessons of my life.

Broken down to its smallest denominator I could get through anything.

So yes, I will gasp and sputter and cough my way through one more cool, rainy, humid day. I will do my morning aerobics, clear my lungs, and go get my x-ray done. I will stop at a greenhouse or two and buy some alyssum and hopefully a rhubarb plant…and I will keep on keeping on – One step or yard or sign at a time. ⚠️

Tomorrow, hopefully the sun will shine. Regardless, I will be back to celebrate 140 Days of posting my Daily Food Diary. 💜

Daily Food Diary – Day 139

Breakfast:

(1) c coffee (2)

(1/2) grapefruit (39)

(1/2) tsp sugar (8)

(1) Granola bar (160) (3 grams)

Lunch:

(1) c lean pork tenderloin stir fry (107)

Snacks:

(6) Mini Easter Eggs (85) (2.5 grams)

(36) oz water

Supper:

(12) oz carbonated water

(4) oz pork chop (130) (1.5 grams)

(1) tsp olive oil (90) (.7 grams)

(1) c brussel sprouts (100)

(2) tsp butter (69) (4.7 grams)

(1) c white rice (242) (.1 gram)

(1 1/2) tbsp soya sauce (2)

(1) side salad w/ Sunflower seeds, dried fried onions, French dressing (250) (2.7 grams)

Total net calories: 1056

Net calorie goal: 1243 – 1056 = 187 under 👍

Total saturated fats: 15.1 grams

Saturated fat goal: 13.75 👎 (but close 🙄)

That’s it for today. Take care and have a great day! 💞☺️

**A Bouquet of** **Childhood Memories💞**🌞

Daily Food Diary – Day 138 of 365

May 19, 2025May 19, 2025 by annemariedemyen, posted in 2025, Health and Fitness

It has been 138 Days since I began posting my Daily Food Diary! 💃🕺

Yesterday, I blew my nutrition goals again BUT once again, the extra calories were justified.

Yesterday, grandson Rory came over to help clean up our front yard. He did the heavy work of raking up the lawn, but I cleaned up two big flower beds and and I helped him bag all of his hard work. (Several bags!)

**Rory, Molly, and I – wrapping up for the day.** **I love this photo that Dan took. It took time to get Molly onboard but I think it turned out so perfect!**

It will be a few days before Rory can come back to work up the garden planters for me. It rained all night and it doesn’t look like we will be seeing any sunshine until next weekend. It is frustrating, but it will be nice to see the city turn fresh and green.

Molly and I took another solo trip around the neighborhood yesterday, after Rory left. The humidity makes it harder for me to walk, but hopefully we can keep getting out there this week.

Dan is here and he is fine, but the cold wet weather is affecting his joints so he has been focussed on working in the garage. I can’t wait for him to finish the new planters he is building. I think I have enough plants to fill them, but that remains to be seen.

Daily Food Diary – Day 138

Breakfast:

(1) c coffee (2)

(1) tsp olive oil (40) (.7 grams)

(2) eggs (160) (3 grams)

(1) sl. Cheese for omelet (80) (4.5 grams)

(3) sl. Bacon (130) (3.3 grams)

(2) potato patties (240)

Snacks:

(48) oz water

(1) Asian pear (116)

(12) Raspberries (12)

(10) Doritos (127) (.9 grams)

Supper:

(1) Tortilla cheese wrap (170) (1.5 grams)

(1) tsp Miracle Whip Light (12) (.2 grams)

(1) tbsp Dilly Dip (80) (1.2 grams)

(6) sl. Piller’s shaved ham (90) (1.5 grams)

(1) c Romaine lettuce (8)

(1/5) c red onions (13)

(1/4) c orange pepper (4)

(1) tomato (22)

(1) peanut butter/cream cheese cookie (167) (3.5 grams)

(1) Lemon oatmeal cookie (68) (.6) grams

Total net calories: 1481

Net calorie goal: 1243 – 1481 = 237 over 👎

Total saturated fats: 22 grams

Saturated fats goal: 13.75 grams 👎

Avg. Sodium for past week: 2338 mg

Avg. Processed sugar for past week: 20 grams

That’s it for today. Take care and have a great day! 💕😊

Daily Food Diary – Day 137 of 365

May 18, 2025May 18, 2025 by annemariedemyen, posted in 2025, Health and Fitness

It is 137 Days since I began posting my Daily Food Diary. 😁 And it is 1 Day since I finished my latest round of antibiotics and Prednisone! 😃

Yesterday, I failed to meet my goal for net total calories and for saturated fats. There is no excuse for over cheesing the nachos – but I can justify eating the extra nachos. They were VERY good! And.. I burned a lot of calories yesterday, some of which I did not deduct from my calorie intake.

The bulk of those non- deducted calories burnt came from yardwork. I trimmed our front yard and mowed the big half – much bigger, but easier. The grass was marginally shorter than the other side, but I still emptied the grass bag four times into our big green bin. That is the hardest part of mowing because our mower bag is huge and heavy, our green bin is almost as tall as me, and my face is right in the fresh grass (not ideal with grass allergies. 🙄) But I got the one side done before Dan decided I was done. He did the more difficult side. Today, our grandson Rory is coming over to give the yard a good raking. I am excited to see him and excited to have another major project off the books!

After mowing, I took on one more project for the day – which I did deduct calories for. I let Molly take me for a full walk around our neighbourhood ALONE. That was the first time I have ventured out that far with her in TWO YEARS. The first time since the dogpark collision/broken arm incident of 2023. 🙄 I just didn’t totally trust either her or myself to go alone since.

Yesterday, Molly crushed it! She did have to make one quick poop stop, but otherwise she was focused on getting me around the neighborhood and back home. She just cruised right by other dogs, vehicles, lots of people, trees, sign posts, and the like.

And we had one bonus moment… Granddaughter Genie drove past us with her sisters Maddie and Prim. They waved and yelled at us. I waved and yelled back to them. You can’t buy moments like those and nothing can prepare you for them. ☺️

I am so blessed to have my health and my family and my Molly dog. 💞🌞

Daily Food Diary – Day 137

Breakfast:

(1) c coffee (2)

(1) Paratha (240) (1 gram)

(1) tbsp all-natural peanut butter (90) (1 gram)

(1) tbsp jam (50)

Lunch:

(3) oz BBQ chicken breast (53)

(12) Lightly salted ripple chips (130) (.5 grams)

Snacks

(48) oz water

(1) Lemon oatmeal cookie (68) (.6 grams)

Supper:

(2) Lg servings of nachos – tortilla chips, lean ground turkey, orange, pepper, jalapeno , green onions, green olives, shredded cheese, salsa (996) (22.9 grams)

Total net calories: 1369

Net calorie goal: 1243 – 1369 = 126 over 👎

Total saturated fats: 26 grams

Saturated fats goal: 13.75 grams 👎

That’s it for today. Take care & have a great day! 💖😌

Daily Daily Food Diary – Day 136 of 365

May 17, 2025June 30, 2025 by annemariedemyen, posted in 2025, Health and Fitness

It is 136 Days since I began posting my Daily Food Diary! 🎉

When I began this challenge, I did not have any specific goals in mind. I wanted to be more mindful of what I was eating and make adjustments along the way. That is what I am experiencing, but that and so much more.

My husband Dan, who has supported my health and fitness journey from Day 1 (three years ago) reads my blog every day. It has opened up a new line of communication between us from shopping, to choosing daily meal options, to how we prepare our meals. It has brought us even closer, which is really quite amazing!

Dan and I are both retired now, so we have time to communicate. It wasn’t always this way. For the decades that I worked Monday to Friday and he worked 24/7 shifts, we could go days on end barely seeing each other. Four day weekends were nice but they were filled with grandbabies, golf, to do lists, and the like – not a lot of time for small (or big) talks.

I was actually concerned about how we would manage once we had this opportunity to spend more time together. So far, so good! And between My Daily Diary, gardening season, Molly dog, and a bit of travelling this summer – it’s only getting better. 😊💞☺️

**2023 – Dan retired and our new (and improved) life began!**

Daily Food Diary – Day 136

Breakfast:

(1) c coffee(2)

(1) tsp olive oil (40) (.7 grams)

(2) eggs (160) (3 grams)

(2) slices back bacon (100) (1 gram)

Lunch:

(48) oz water

(1) pear (103)

(12) raspberries (12)

Snacks:

(1/2) c bbq corn nuts (230) (1 gram)

Supper:

(5 3/5) oz beef striploin (408) (9.8 grams)

(1) c Ramen cabbage salad (169) (1.4 grams)

(1) corn on the cob (78) (.2 grams)

(2) tsp butter (69) (4.7 grams)

(2) tbsp Steakhouse BBQ sauce (50)

(1/8) tsp seasoning salt

(2) Lemon oatmeal cookies (137) (1.2 grams)

Total net calories: 1396

Net calorie goal: 1243 – 1396 = 153 over 👎

Total saturated fats: 23 grams

Saturated fats goal: 13.75 grams 👎

That’s it for today. Take care and have a great day! 💗🌞

Grandpa’s Bleeding Heart is thriving this year and it got a bit of sprucing up, too. It is loaded with hearts to come, and the next time I go to a greenhouse I am going to get some purple and white alyssum to fill in the planter around it. 😊

Daily Food Diary – Day 135 of 365

May 16, 2025May 16, 2025 by annemariedemyen, posted in 2025, Health and Fitness

It is 135 Days since I started my 365 Day Food Diary! 🎉 I am DONE my entire round of antibiotics and I only have 2 more days of Prednisone! ☺️

With chronic respiratory issues, this has NOT been my first rodeo with antibiotics and Prednisone, but for whatever reason, this has been a rough one.

Yesterday, I was finally feeling pretty good once I got past the high humidity in the morning. I had a great aerobic workout and I got some kitchen deep cleaning done.

My only issue was a serious appetite ALL day. I don’t know if my body needed the calories to recover, if I haven’t been drinking enough water, or if it was the Prednisone talking – but I was HUNGRY all day.

I had a good enough breakfast, and lunch, but supper was over the top. I chopped everything up for the stir fry and Dan came in and offered to cook it. It was amazing. It was dessert worthy amazing!

I blew through both my net calories and saturated fat goals for the day, but there you go. In the past two weeks, I only totally missed one workout, we took a few walks, and I was somewhat productive even on my worst days.

Fall down, get back up, repeat. But the falls get fewer and the get back up comes sooner. It is progress. 👍

Daily Food Diary – Day 135

Breakfast:

(1) c coffee (2)

(1) sausage patties (190) (5 grams)

(2) Classic Eggos (180) (1.5)

(1) tsp butter (34) (2.3 grams)

(1) tbsp Maple Syrup (55)

Lunch:

(48) oz water

(1) BBQ chicken thigh (160) (1 gram)

(1/2) c potato salad (220) (2 grams)

Supper:

(1 1/2) c white rice (363) (.2 grams)

(8) oz stir-fry (pork tenderloin, leek, red onion, mushroom, carrots, celery, cabbage, baby Bok choy, water chestnuts, terriaki-oyster-soya sauce, black pepper, crushed hot peppers). (349) (3.8 grams)

(3/4) c French Vanilla Ice Cream (240) (7.5 grams)

(1) tbsp Chocolate sauce (52) (.1 gram)

(1) Lemon oatmeal cookie (68) (.6 grams)

Total net calories: 1736

Net calorie goal: 1243 – 1736 = 493 over 👎

Total saturated fats: 24 grams

Saturated fats goal: 13.75 grams 👎

That’s it for today! Take care and have a great day! 💞😊

Daily food Diary – Day 134 of 365

May 15, 2025May 16, 2025 by annemariedemyen, posted in 2025, Health and Fitness

It is Day 134 of my Daily Food Diary! Only 231 Days to go until I am a nutritional expert. 😄

After no sleep the night before, I did not make any great strides on my Health & Fitness Journey yesterday.

It gets incredibly frustrating to be tripping along and then have a massively rough day, when you wonder if you are going to survive – much less ever get back on track to bigger and better things. 😬

Fortunately, yesterday wasn’t a total write off. Dan and I took Molly for a short walk. As we were passing the dogpark, Dan noticed that Molly’s friend Willy and his human Randy, were there so we stopped to visit. Ripple, and his human Lyndon, showed up and Molly wasn’t going anywhere.

I left Dan and Molly at the park and came home to do my aerobic workout. When Dan got home, we headed out to go shopping.

I used all of our Canadian Tire points on bedding plants but I scored big – several herbs, peppers, strawberries, pansies, AND portulaca.

We moved on to Walmart and bought a new coffee maker, a few groceries, laundry detergent AND dog treats. We picked up dental treats (pricey but not as bad as dental surgery!), bedtime cookies, and general snack treats.

When we got Molly we paid $250.00 for her plus took her straight to the vet’s for a checkup and her vaccines (another $250.00 ?). In the past week, we took her to the vet ($442.00), bath at Pet store ($20.00 incl tip), got her a new bag of dogfood ($60.00) and got her treats… ($60.00). And she needs a new collar. 🤦 Molly dogs are not for the faint of heart!

Healthwise I am hopefully back on track today. I slept like a rock last night – ALL NIGHT. This is my last day of antibiotics, three more days of Prednisone, and if we get past this solid rainy day with 92% humidity – I think I will be good to go! 💃

Daily Food Diary – Day 134

Breakfast:

(1) coffee (2)

(1) tsp olive oil (40) (.7 grams)

(1) tsp butter (34) (2.3 grams)

(1) egg (80) (1.5 grams)

(1) slice back bacon (50) (.5 grams)

(1) slice marble cheese (80) (4.5 grams)

(2) potato patties (240)

Snacks:

(48) oz water

(1) Lemon oatmeal cookie (68) (.6 grams)

(1) Peanut butter, cream cheese cookie (167) (3.5 grams)

Supper:

(2) x Arby roast beef (no bun) (200) (8 grams)

(1) med Arby crinkle cut fries (390) (3 grams)

(1) Arby gravy (35) (.1 gram)

(1) tbsp Arby Horsey Sauce (60) (1 gram)

Total net calories: 1241

Net calories goal: 1243 – 1241 = 2 under 🙂

Total saturated fats: 25.7 grams

Saturated fats goal: 13.75 👎

That’s it for today. Take care and have a great day! 💝☺️

Daily Food Diary – Day 133 of 365

May 14, 2025May 20, 2025 by annemariedemyen, posted in Uncategorized

It is 133 Days since I started posting my Daily Food Diary. That is a full 19 weeks!

Yesterday was a fairly productive day. We had a relatively hearty breakfast, then set out for a walk around the neighborhood with Molly.

By the time we returned home, it was time for Dan to set out for a round of golf. I did my aerobics and got some housework done – including washing the front window.

I have been wanting to have some cookies in the house for those times when I want just a little dessert. Yesterday, I got into the kitchen and tried a couple of new (to me) recipes. I made some baked Lemon Oatmeal cookies and a batch of Peanut Butter/Cream Cheese/Chocolate Chip no bake cookies. It is doubtful that I will ever make either again but we will probably use them up eventually.

Last night was a rough night for all of us. I don’t know if it’s the meds I am on, the weather, allergies or what, but I coughed from 10:30 last night until 4:30 this morning. I finally managed to get an hour sleep on the sofa before Molly woke me up at 5:30 to tell me I was in her spot. 😒

**It’s actually Dan’s spot, but Molly saves it for him if he gets up.**

I don’t know how much we will get done today but Molly needs a walk and I want to hit up a few greenhouses to pick up some bags of soil for planters and a few seedlings. We have a ton of yardwork to get done in the next couple of weeks so we have to get at it.

Daily Food Diary – Day 133

Breakfast:

(1) c coffee (2)

(1) cheese tortilla wrap (170) (1.5 grams)

(1) tsp butter (34) (2.3 grams)

(1) tsp olive oil (40) (.7 grams)

(2) eggs (160) (3 grams)

(1 1/2) oz low sodium ham (50) (.7 grams)

(2) tbsp salsa (10)

Snacks:

(48) oz water

(1) Asian pear (116)

(12) raspberries (12)

(1) Lemon oatmeal cookie (68) (.6 grams)

(1) Peanut butter/cream cheese cookie (167) (3.5 grams)

Supper:

(1) bbq chicken drumsticks (110) (.4 grams)

(3) oz BBQ chicken breast (53)

(4) oz potato salad (220) (2 grams)

(1) Bucks baby dill pickle (3)

Total net calories: 1093

Net calorie goal: 1243 – 1093 = 150 under 👍

Total saturated fats: 20.7 grams

Saturated fats goal: 13.75 grams 👎

That’s it for today. Take care and have a great day! 😊💕

Daily Food Diary – Day 132 of 365

May 13, 2025May 14, 2025 by annemariedemyen, posted in 2025, Health and Fitness

It is 132 Days since I began posting my Daily Food Diary! 🤗 It is also 5 days since I began my latest round of antibiotics and Prednisone.

Yesterday started way too early. The latest episode of Prednisone side effects woke me up at 4:00 am and I wasn’t getting back to sleep. Fortunately, the vibrating eased off and I was able to have a relatively productive day.

I got my morning aerobics done…

And we took, Molly for a bath at Pet Value..

Not much of a drama queen! 🙄

Molly and I walked home after her bath, since she was still pretty damp. It was only one kilometer and supposedly took us fourteen minutes but it seemed much further and much longer! I don’t think my health app included for the poop stop (3 BAGS full!) or stops to sniff every tree, sign, post, and blade of grass.

After we returned home, I still had enough in me to do a bit of house work, plant care, and to change over the blankets on the living room furniture.

For supper, I spatchcocked my first chicken – ever! That was not as much of an ordeal as I assumed it would be, but my kitchen scissors may never be the same.

Dan barbecued the chicken, once I had it spread out, oiled and seasoned. It was pretty good for a first effort, in my mind! It will be fun to try again later in the season when I have fresh herbs from the garden to season it with. 👍

Daily Food Diary

Breakfast:

(1) c coffee (2)

(1 1/2) oz low sodium ham (50) (.7 grams)

(2) Eggo classic waffles (180) (1.5 grams)

(1) tsp butter (34) (2.3 grams)

(1) tbsp Maple Syrup (55)

Snack:

(1) pear (103)

(9) raspberries (9)

(60) oz water

Supper:

(1) BBQ chicken thigh & drumstick (180) (3.1 grams)

(1) BBQ chicken wing (50)

(2) tsp olive oil (79) (1.3 grams)

(1/2) c potato salad (220) (2 grams)

(3) radishes (4)

(1/4) c orange pepper (4)

(1) carrot (25)

(5) slices cucumber (4)

(1 1/2) tbsp Dilly Dip (120) (1.9 grams)

Total net calories: 1042

Net calorie goal: 1243 – 1042 = 201 under 👍

Total saturated fats: 13.4 grams

Saturated fats goal: < 13.75 grams 👍

That’s it for today. Take care and have a great day! 💗🌞

Daily Food Diary – Day 131 of 365

May 12, 2025May 12, 2025 by annemariedemyen, posted in 2025, Health and Fitness

It is 131 Days since I started posting my Daily Food Diary. 🎉

My Mother’s Day yesterday was very nice! I spent the day with Dan and Molly, soaking in more heat than we were prepared for!

Dan drove Maddy to work and came home to make me a perfect cheese omelet and bacon breakfast. He made one stop on the way to buy me a beautiful bouquet of orange roses.

I heard from Jennifer (who was working), Genie & her fiance Alec (who was working, but took time to message all the mothers in his life – 😊), and son Dan called when he got home from work last night. I didn’t hear from son Mark, (nor expected to) but I did have him, his fiance and his boys in mind.💞

My one big food treat for the day was a little wee chocolate Rolo ice cream cone. I was up at 4:00 this morning. I’ll say it was worth it.

Dan made delicious ham salad wraps for supper last night. Neither of us were feeling a hot heavy meal. If it cools off a bit this week, I’m sure we will share a steak one night. 🙂

Today is all about Molly. I’m going to do what I can with a brush this morning and we will take her to PetSmart for a nice bath.

Daily Food Diary – Day 131

Breakfast:

(1) coffee (2)

(2) egg omelet with cheese (260) (10 grams)

(3) slices bacon (130) (3.3 grams)

(1) tsp olive oil (40) (.7 grams)

(1) tsp butter (34) (2.3 grams)

(1/2 tomato (11)

(2) potato patties (240)

Snacks:

(60) oz water

(1) Rolo ice cream cone (310) (11 grams)

Supper:

(3/4) c Ham salad (235) (4 grams)

(1) cheese tortilla wrap (170) (1.5)

(1) Bick’s Baby Dill Pickle (3)

(6) No Name lightly salted ripple chips (65) (.2 grams)

Total net calories: 1500

Net calorie goal: 1243 – 1500 = 257 over 👎

Total saturated fats: 33.1 grams

Saturated fats goal: 13.75 grams 👎

My stats for the past week show my saturated fats averaged 22 grams per day, which isn’t good, but my sodium was only 1765 mg per day, which I am really happy with. And my processed sugar was 19.58 grams which isn’t bad – but something that I still have to work on. (At 32 grams of sugar and 11 grams of saturated fats, that Rolo ice cream cone did some damage even to my weekly stats. 🙂)

That’s it for today. Take care and have a great day! 💖😊

Daily Food Diary – Day 130 of 365

May 11, 2025May 12, 2025 by annemariedemyen, posted in 2025, Health and Fitness

It is 130 Days since I started my Daily Food Diary! 🎉

It is also Mother’s Day 2025. This is me, ready for a beautiful relaxing day. I just bought myself a new summer dress to lounge around in on days like this – and you will note that I do own a real pair of shoes!

My favourite thing always is my family. My favourite thing lately is seeing my family putting more focus on their health and fitness. (I like to think that my own efforts over the past three years have helped steer them in that direction.) 🤗

Daily Food Diary – Day 130

Breakfast:

(1) c coffee (2)

(1) slice low sodium ham (50) (.7 grams)

(1) egg (80) (1.5 grams)

(2) potato patties (240)

(54) oz water

Supper:

Caesar salad:

(2) oz shredded Habanero cheese (223) (10.2 grams)

(4) oz shredded mozzarella (168) (7.4 grams)

(3) oz. Chicken breast (140) (.9 grams)

(2) slices bacon (87) (2.2 grams)

(2 1/2) c lettuce (15)

(1/2) red onion (15)

(4) tbsp dried fried onions (67) (2.2 grams)

(3) tbsp Caesar Dressing (240) (2.2 grams)

Total net calories: 1149

Net calorie goal: 1243 – 1149 = 94 under 👍

Total saturated fats: 27.2 grams

Saturated fats goal: 13.75 grams 👎

My saturated fats were a big miss yesterday. To be honest, it would have been worse if I wasn’t on the meds for my bronchitis. I was in a mood for ice cream after supper last night but I can’t eat for two hours before taking my antibiotics AND I cannot go to bed for at least an hour after I take them. So… Ice cream at 8 pm just wasn’t doable. 😕🍧