Category: 2025

Daily Food Diary – Day 364 of 365

by annemariedemyen, posted in 2025, Health and Fitness

Today is Day 364 of my Daily Food Diary! 🎊

Today is New Year’s Eve.  This year has had its challenges (as they all do), but it has been a good, productive year.  I look forward to an evening of gratitude and  reflection with my husband and our Molly dog. 

Dan & Molly 💞

Today,  my Daily WINS are worthy of being celebrated every day..

1) Nature – we are fortunate to live in a relatively rural city with an abundance of greenspace to enjoy year round.  Fresh air, natural beauty.. a win every time.

A young granddaughter Prim exploring the paths around Wascana Lake in the heart of our city – Regina, Sk. 

2) Fond farewells – this year I am particularly grateful to look back over the passing year and to celebrate everyone and everything that has been a part of it.  2025 has been a year of change, of growth, of living life well.  

3) New beginnings – I have always loved new beginnings… I love the hope, the anticipation, the fresh start, the unlimited potential, the  opportunity to start over, and to do better.. I celebrate new days, new weeks, new years!

This year I celebrated entering a new decade in my life.   The SEVENTIES  have arrived  and I am ready to embrace them!

My Daily Food Diary WIN for the day is the realization that, having become more mindful of what we consume, we have become more flexible about what and when we eat. 

For the most part, supper has  been the big meal of our day.  When we worked – that worked for us.  Now,  there are an increasing number of days when breakfast/brunch is taking over the honors.   We need the protein to carry us through the day and we both feel better in the evening following a light supper.  

Daily Food Diary – Day 364

Breakfast:

(1) coffee (2)

(2) scrambled eggs (182)

(3) slices bacon (130)

(2) potato patties (240)

Snacks:

(1) c tea (5)

(3) Christmas cookies (300)

(5) licorice babies (78)

Supper:

(1)  c tomato soup (151)

(5) soda crackers (63)

(1) ham salad wrap (400)

(1) Bicks Baby Dill (3)

(2) Chocolates (100)

Total calories counted: 1654

Total calories used: 171

(30) minutes aerobics (171)

Total net calories: 1483

Net calories goal: 1208 – 1654 = 274 over 👎

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

Daily Food Diary – Day 363 of 365

by annemariedemyen, posted in 2025, Health and Fitness

Today is Day 363 of my Daily Food Diary.  THREE days and I will have fulfilled my commitment to maintain and post my Food Diary for one full year!

Every single day during this past year, I have benefited from this exercise.  My Daily Food Diary WIN yesterday, was having the knowledge, practice, and incentive to switch out of holiday mode and serve up a healthy supper of fresh salad with baked chicken.   😀

Outside of my Daily Food Diary wins, I continue to acknowledge my basic life wins every day. 

Today, my Daily WINS include:

1) The variety and quality of foods  that we have available to us.. With each trip to the super market,  we have access to fresh, frozen or packaged dairy products, vegetables, fruits, meat, baked goods and more.   Our foods are produced locally or shipped to us from around the globe.  There are  people the world over  that cannot conceive of the abundance that we too often, and too easily, take for granted.   For us, our food supply is a daily win in our lives. 🥦🍖🍪

2) My waist! I know that is odd, but for too many years I struggled to bend over because my gut got in the way, I struggled to sit because my gut pressed into my lungs, and I struggled to buy clothes because properly fitted clothing is not designed for narrow hips and shoulders and big bellies.  🤦‍♀️

It took FOUR years, but I am happy to be in the shape that I am in now!

3) Peace and quiet…  at the busiest, noisiest  times of my life – I cherished moments of peace and quiet.  I craved silence.  Nowadays, it is almost an obsession.  I love those random moments of silence in my day to day life.  I notice them, I appreciate them, and to this day, I  absolutely  cherish  them.  🤫

Daily Food Diary – Day 363

Breakfast:

(1) c coffee (2)

(3) crumpets (240)

(2) tsp butter (69)

(1) tbsp jam (50)

Snacks:

(1) c lemon ginger tea

(1/4) c mixed nuts (180)

(1/2) pc Christmas cake (120)

(48) Oz water

Supper:

(1) Dinner salad (190)

(3) chicken drumsticks (600)

(3) chocolates (190)

Total consumed calories: 1643

Total used calories: 86

Total net calories: 1557

Net calorie goal: 1208 – 1557 = 349 over 👎

Thats it for today.  Take care and have a great day! ☺️💕

Daily Food Diary – Day 362 of 365

by annemariedemyen, posted in 2025, Health and Fitness

Today is Day 362 of my Daily Food Diary! FOUR days to go, before I level up to my 2026 Daily Activity Journal! 💃

This morning I have been thinking about  my life in general, so today my Daily WINS are wins that I get to appreciate every day!

1) Retirement…There is no downside.  The best days are amazing.  The rough days – still amazing.  Sick – I don’t have to go to work or miss time.  Snow, ice, pitch dark at 7:30 am when everyone (else) is driving to work – I don’t have to! Bored or lonely – never! Lower income –  not really a problem (apparently we wasted a lot of money working 🙃). 

2) Being Canadian – I love Canada and cannot imagine living anywhere else.   Canada is an oasis of natural beauty,  strength, and true values.  We who live here are fortunate indeed. 

Wascana Trails – Minutes from life in the city…

3) Life – this opportunity to live and learn and love – to grow and evolve physically, mentally, and emotionally.   I have no idea what form my life takes after this – but I do know that ‘this’ is a small incredibly important step in my journey. 

My Daily Food Diary win for the day has been the  opportunity to discover and experience new flavors and foods.   Often this come about by Dan, Jennifer, or Genie sourcing out products or recipes to try – but many have become my newest favorite. 

Brazilian Cheese Buns

Daily Food Diary – Day 362

Breakfast:

(1) c coffee (2)

(2) potato patties (240)

(2) slices bacon (130)

(2) eggs (160)

(4) sl tomato (11)

Snacks:

(1) c tea (5)

(8) Hint of Lime tortilla chips (200)

(4) Chocolates (200)

(5) licorice babies (78)

Supper:

(1) cabbage rolls (120)

(1) chocolate caramel squares (70)

Total consumed calories: 1346

Total used calories: 0

Total net calories: 1346

Net calories goal: 1208 – 1346 = 138 over

Thats it for today.  Take care and have a great day! 😁🩵

Daily Food Diary – Day 361 of 365

by annemariedemyen, posted in 2025, Health and Fitness

Today is Day 361 of my Daily Food Diary! With only FIVE more days to go, I should finish off my 2025 Daily Food Diary Challenge without one single glitch! 😁

My Daily WINS since I posted yesterday were pretty cool:

1) Dan and I watched not one, but TWO movies last night and we enjoyed both of them.. “The Hitman’s Body Guard” and “Hitman’s Wife’s Body Guard”.

2) Making bacon.. not just any BACON, son Dan’s home smoked bacon that I fried up for breakfast this morning – to perfection!

Son Dan’s Traeger Smoker/Barbecue – where all the magic happens.   (Husband Dan starting the Father’s Day Prime Rib.)

3) Getting my aerobics done yesterday, plus a bit of snow removal from our front and back steps and clearing Molly’s track on our  side patio.   (It was way more about getting a bit of fresh air than getting a workout.)

My Daily Food Diary WIN was a super special one for me. 

This win was all about practicing self discipline, which came in handy over the past few days.  Having a houseful of sweet treats following a couple of major hits to my compromised lungs, was NOT a good thing – but I was able to keep my indulgence in check!   I even managed to take a pass on the rootbeer I really wanted with my nachos last last night, and today I reaped the reward.

Short term pain for long term gain! 97 percent blood oxygen is VERY GOOD and would not have happened if my lungs were  clogged with thick mucus caused by ingesting excess sugar.

This win is the heart and soul of my Health and Wellness Journey.  It isn’t about  winning medals or beauty contests, or living forever.    It is ALL about Living Well and Feeling Good. 

Today I feel Good!  ☺️

Daily Food Diary – Day 361

Breakfast:

(1) c coffee (2)

(1) c Mini Wheats (190)

(1/4) c 2% milk (28)

Lunch:

(1) cabbage rolls (120)

(1) pc chocolate coconut bar (225)

Snacks:

(1) c tea

(1) chocolate toffee (63)

(1) c caramel corn (170)

(48) Oz water

Supper:

(1 1/2) serving nachos (865)

Total consumed calories: 1663

Total used calories: 171

(30) minutes aerobics (171)

Total net calories: 1492

Net calorie goal: 1208 – 1492 = 284 over 👎

Thats it for today.  Take care and have a great day! 💞🤗

Northern lights lighting up the sky in Southern Saskatchewan

Daily Food Diary – Day 360 of 365

by annemariedemyen, posted in 2025, Health and Fitness

Today is Day 360 of my Daily Food Diary – my 360th consecutive day of   diligently tracking everything I have consumed.  🎇

I have noted a number of benefits that I have recognized from this exercise.  The win that I am celebrating today is the positive use I have made of the internet to source out helpful nutritional information.  We hear so much about how detrimental the internet can be to us.  It never fails to amaze me how useful it can be as well.

Workout videos on You Tube have been invaluable to me over the past four years. Now I have branched out to ‘yeast free’ recipes, nutritional information, health supplements, and more.  👍 

My current Daily WINS  are probably relatable for many:

1) Enjoying these days between Christmas and New Year’s when meals are simple and easy with plentiful leftovers on hand.

2) Relaxing with a good book or a new Christmas Jigsaw puzzle.

Maybe not quite so relatable if your  children received ‘some parental assistance required’ Christmas gifts from Grandpa & Grandma. 🤭

3) A fresh blanket of snow that turns the world into a winter wonderland.

Especially if you are a ‘Queen of the Snow‘ Dog!

Daily Food Diary – Day 306

Breakfast:

(1) c coffee (2)

(1) paratha (240)

(1) tbsp jam (50)

(1) tbsp peanut butter (105)

Snacks:

(1/2) c broth (5)

(3) chocolates (210)

(1) pc Christmas cake (240)

(1) c tea

(36) Oz water

Supper:

(5) pierogis (283)

(3) Oz sausage (285)

(1) cabbage roll (120)

(1/2) Oz onion chip dip (20)

Total consumed calories: 1560

Total used calories: 175

(30) minutes aerobics (175)

Total net calories: 1389

Net calorie goal: 1208 – 1389 = 181 over 👎

Thats it for today.  take care and have a great day!😁💗

May your day, and the days to come, be magical for you and yours! 💞

Daily Food Diary – Day 359 of 365

by annemariedemyen, posted in 2025, Health and Fitness

Today is Day 359 of my Daily Food Diary. ☺️

Six days left to go!

Yesterday after we got back from brunch and gift giving at Genie and Alec’s, we settled in  for a peaceful afternoon with Molly. 

My afternoon snack consisted of one Gin and Tonic and three delectable chocolates.  Our supper was leftover Chinese Food from Dan & Amanda’s visit followed by a cup of hot tea.  Again, for the second day in a row – no calories were counted. 

Today is Boxing Day in Canada.  Traditionally, people would rush out today to take advantage of  post Christmas sales. (A tradition that I consistently avoided).

I prefer the rest, relax, and recover tradition.

Enjoying memories of Maddy’s very first Annual Boxing Day Sleepover… this year she will be at work hosting little ones on their way home from Boxing Day sleepovers. 💞
And,  indulging in my annual Christmas Jigsaw puzzle event.

I will also be getting into  Recovery Mode by doing my aerobics this morning and heading outdoors for some fresh air this afternoon. 

It is time to start rebuilding so that I am ready to head into the new year  with the strength and stamina to work on reaching my AMAZING, FABULOUS, GINORMOUS 2026 HEALTH AND FITNESS GOAL!

Take care and have a great day! 🤗💞

Daily Food Diary – Day 358 of 365

by annemariedemyen, posted in 2025, Health and Fitness

Today is the 358th Day that I have posted my Daily Food Diary without one miss!🤩

Today is also Christmas Day so I am going rogue – sharing a bit of our Christmas with you.

Christmas Eve / Genie’s Birthday – Following a full supper of turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, roasted vegetables, cabbage rolls, cranberries, buns/yorkshire pudding Brazilian cheese buns, Genie opened her presents and we shared in her birthday cake.
This morning we returned for a quick brunch of pancakes, bacon, ham, and fruit.  Following which, we headed down to Genie &  Alec’s suite to open gifts.

Family Christmas 2025 was a merry,  relaxing, loving, Peace on Earth success.   

Appreciation for Alec’s Mom for opening up her house to all of us for the past two days and for taking the lead in the kitchen to ensure all went smoothly for Alec & Genie’s first run at hosting the holidays.

Kudos to Alec and Genie for the festive decorations, the efficient set up, and of course the hosting duties served up with their sparkling  enthusiasm,  kindness, and consideration.

The wins for the day… it was all wins.  After three days of hosting Baccardi and Cornelius, Molly even ‘won’ a bit of personal time while we were out. 

It’s been exhausting..

My Daily Food Diary roundup win..

The balance and confidence to set aside the calorie counter for Christmas Eve  & Christmas Day.  I am enjoying all of the foods and treats of the season – in moderation and with a reasonable amount of caution. (Unlimited sugar is not my friend 🙄 even at Christmas.

Merry Christmas From Our House To Yours! 🎄🎁

Daily Food Diary – Day 357 of 365

by annemariedemyen, posted in 2025, Health and Fitness

Today is Day 357 of my Daily Food Diary! Eight more days to go! 💗 

Today is Christmas Eve and we are already well into the holiday wins!

1) Last night we had a final evening visit with son Dan and family.  Amanda and I whipped up a quick supper of comfort foods.  Dan & Dan took over the kitchen to do the after supper clean up. Teamwork at its finest.  👍

2) Today we celebrate granddaughter Genevieve’s 22nd birthday!  Every day that we are blessed to have our sweet Genie in our lives is a win. 🎂

3) Tonight we head over to Genie & Alec’s to enjoy their first official Christmas/birthday supper. 🎄

My Daily Food Diary roundup win is an easy one today…

Despite my Christmas baking and amazing contributions by son Dan… I have been mindful of keeping the treat consumption to a minimum so far!  Moderation is today’s Daily Food Diary WIN.

Daily Food Diary:

Breakfast:

(1)  c coffee (2)

(1) c cheerios (147)

(1/4)  c 2% milk (28)

Snacks:

(1) gin & tonic (130)

(15) Lays lightly salted chips (218)

(1) pc. Chocolate coconut dessert bar (170)

Supper:

(4) Cheemo pierogis (227)

(1/2) Oz onion chip dip (20)

(1) cabbage rolls (120)

(3) Oz Drake sausage (285)

Total consumed calories: 1347

Total used calories: 0

Total net calories: 1347

Net calorie goal: 1208 – 1347 = 139 over 👎

That’s it for today.  Take care and have a beautiful,  loving, peace on earth/good will toward all, Merry Christmas Eve! 🎄🎇🎁

Daily Food Diary – Day 355 of 365

by annemariedemyen, posted in 2025, Health and Fitness

Today is Day 355 of my Daily Food Diary! 😄

There are 10 DAYS left of 2025 and 10 Days before I meet my goal of maintaining and posting my Daily Food Diary for a full year!

Being retired and somewhat of a homebody hermit, meeting my goal has not been that challenging, for the most part.

Trying to do my Daily Food Diary today, with a lap full of small dogs, is a little more challenging than usual this morning.

My WINS for the Day today:

1) Wrapping ALL of our Christmas gifts yesterday!  There are a few things about the Christmas Season that I really do enjoy.  Wrestling wrapping paper, ribbons, and tape is NOT one of them.  But, I am done for 2025 so YAY!

2) Son Dan & Family arrived safe and sound yesterday.  So good to see all of them, including Gabby, who is at the University of Alberta in Edmonton this year (working on completing her Psychology degree).

Gabby, Dan, Cason, Amanda, & Lucas!

3) A feel good yesterday and a great night sleep. (8 solid hours – slept like a rock!)

BONUS WIN – Maintaining peace and joy despite vacuum cleaner dying AND one perfectly aimed fling of Molly’s tail taking out a full can of rootbeer and sending rootbeer foam flying from the coffee table to the carpet, to the wood floor, to the sofa, to the wall, stool, desk, Cason, and Gabby. 

My Daily Food Diary WIN for the day..

Cutting back (significantly) on sugar this year.  For most, this would be a good thing, for me it is great! With multiple lung issues (asthma, bronchiectasis, and COPD) plus an allergy to yeast – sugar is a bad thing – and a big weakness of mine! Especially CAKE with frosting! This year cake was minimal. 👍💪😉

Daily Food Diary – Day 355

Breakfast:

(1) c coffee (2)

(2) fried eggs (160)

(3) slices bacon (130)

(2) potato patties (240)

(4) slices tomato (11)

Snacks:

(1) butter tart (100)

(3) Oz red wine (75)

(48) Oz water

Supper:

(1) c Chicken Gumbo Soup (140)

(5) soda crackers (63)

(1) tortilla wrap (170)

(5) slices shaved Pillers ham (60)

(1 1/2) Oz marble cheese (170)

(1/4) sliced red onion (21)

Total consumed calories: 1342

Total used calories: 0

Total net calories: 1342

Net calories goal: 1208 – 1342 = 134 over 👎

That’s it for today.  Take care and have a great day! 😁💓

Daily Food Diary – Day 354 of 365

by annemariedemyen, posted in 2025, Health and Fitness

Today is Day 354 of my Daily Food Diary! 🌺

Yesterday after I posted my blog, I hit a setback of sorts on my way to recovery.   I did get the livingroom floor done, decorations up, and some general tidying up done before I crashed.  My surgical wound was swollen and ITCHY and I was just exhausted.  Fortunately, today I am back on track and I feel just FINE!

So,  for today’s wins:

1) I feel FINE!

2) Dan, Amanda, and family are on the road and the roads are in relatively good shape today.  (Much better than usual these days!)  We are looking forward to seeing them and their pups.

Bacardii & Cornelius

3) We have sunshine today! Once again,  Dan and Molly walked without me due to the cold and the poor walking conditions which I am not quite ready to tackle – but it is uplifting to see the sunshine, nonetheless!

My Daily Food Diary roundup WIN for the day…

Balance – Balancing calories, protein, cholesterol (saturated fats), and collagen was a challenge for sure – but it  is something that I have, and continue to, work on!

Air fried chicken wings – high in collagen, protein and calories – relatively low in fat. 🤷‍♀️

Daily Food Diary – Day 354

Breakfast:

(1) c coffee (2)

(3) crumpets (240)

(2) tsp butter (69)

(1) tbsp jam (50)

Lunch:

(2) Harvest hotdogs (320)

(8) Hint of Lime tortilla chips (200)

(1) pc Christmas cake (240)

Supper:

(1 1/2) c stirfry with beefsteak, vegetables, and udon noodles  (714)

Total consumed calories: 1835

Total used calories: 0

Total net calories: 1835

Net calories goal: 1208 – 1835 = 627 over 👎

That’s it for today.  Take care and have a great Sunday! 🤨💞