Daily Food Diary – Day 326 of 365

by annemariedemyen, posted in 2025, Health and Fitness

Today is Day 326 of my Daily Food Diary. 🙉  It is Sunday and our weather is amazing.  It is a few degrees above freezing, sunny,  warm, and DRY!  

We went for our morning walk a while ago.  The streets were relatively quiet.  We crossed paths with one dog that Molly would have liked to interact with, but they both just wanted to play so it was not a big deal.

On our walk, I coughed three times.  That was not three coughing fits – just a couple of coughs each time to clear my throat.  I am sure that is a three year record. 🤩

Last night Dan made Baked French Onion Soup for supper.   He used lots of onions, unsalted Campbell’s beef broth, toasted sourdough bun, and shredded cheese (marble for mine/mozzarella, provolone, & parmesan for his).   It was our second amazing supper in a row.

After supper we watched a movie (after the Toronto/Montreal hockey game).   We seldom watch movies.  I usually choose the movies we watch and my choices are questionable at best.  ‘Catnado’ hit a new low for me – and that took some doing! Last night we watched one that Dan was interested in seeing.  It was definitely a step up. 👍

The rest of our day today should be quiet.  Dan is going to pick up granddaughter Maddy in a bit.  He will probably let her drive home, as he usually does.  She completed her Driver’s Training course with a very respectable 93% – now she just has to keep practicing until the end of March, when she will be old enough to go ace her Driver’s Test.

Maddy – Her first drive ever. (With her Mom as co-pilot in my Taurus)

  

Daily Food Diary – Day 326

Breakfast:

(1) c coffee (2)

(3) crumpets (240)

(2) tsp butter (69)

(1) tbsp jam (50)

Snacks:

(48) Oz water

(1) snickerdoodle (90)

(1) Matt’s climate caesar (168)

Supper:

(1 1/2) servings baked French onion soup (552)

Total consumed calories: 1171

Total used calories: 337

(35) min aerobics (200)

(30) min walking (137)

Total net calories: 834

Net calories goal: 1208 – 834 = 374 under 👍

That is it for today.  take care and have a great day! 🤗💓

Daily Food Diary – Day 325 of 365

by annemariedemyen, posted in Uncategorized

Today is Day 325 of my Daily Food Diary.  🥳

It is hard to believe that 2026 is only 40 days away, compared to the 325 that have passed by this year. 

Last night’s supper probably wouldn’t set any records for nutritional standards but it was amazing.  When Dan and I both worked we would often get takeout, eat out, or pick up something pre-made from our Safeway down the street.  One of my favorites was the  Safeway seafood dip – a concoction of cream cheese, crab, seafood sauce, shredded cheddar, with a sprinkling of green onions, green pepper, and tomato. Shortly before I retired, Safeway became Freshco and they no longer carried our seafood dip.   I gradually forgot about it, but yesterday afternoon my memory was jogged. Dan set out on a mission to one of the very few Safeway stores left in the city.  He returned with the seafood dip and a package of Tostitos Dippers.  Usually stepping back into time to enjoy a particular meal ends in  disappointment.  That was not the case last night!  It is not something that will make it’s way onto our regular meal rotation, but definitely worth it for the rare or occasional treat.

Today, I joined Dan and Molly on their morning walk.  There were still frosty (slippery)  patches along the way, so I soon decided that I was not comfortable holding onto a 100+ pound dog who zigs and zags, stops and pulls, along the way.   Dan took her leash.  But, I did have wins along the way.   My coughing fits were few and far between – far enough that Dan stopped a few times to look back to see if I was still with them. 😁

I am not there yet, but I can actually imagine a time when this miserable cough will be a thing of the past. 🤗

Daily Food Diary – Day 325

Breakfast:

(1) c coffee (2)

(3) crumpets (240)

(2) tsp butter (69)

(1) tbsp jam (50)

Lunch:

(1) c no salt beef broth (16)

(6) Hint of Lime chips (150)

Snacks:

(1) tbsp raw local honey (40)

(2) Belgium chocolate cookies (107)

Supper:

(125) g Tostitos Dippers (650)

(2 1/2) servings seafood crab dip (375)

Total consumed calories: 1699

Total used calories: 308

(30) min walking (137)

(30) min aerobics (171)

Total net calories: 1391

Net calories goal: 1208 – 1391 = 183 over 👎

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

Daily Food Diary – Day 324 of 365

by annemariedemyen, posted in 2025, Health and Fitness

Today is Day 324 of my Daily Food Diary. 🧨

Another 3 months and I will have been on my Health and Wellness Journey for FOUR.   years.  It has taken some effort, some determination, some commitment, some encouragement, some motivation,  and a LOT of inspiration.

It has become my lifestyle now, but I still struggle to stay on track.   At this point,  it has gotten easy to decide that good is good enough.  I can compare myself now to where I was four years ago or to where others are at today and decide “Yea, I’m good”.

But,  I want to be better.  I want to know how good I can get.  I want to know I did my best to reach my full potential.  Good enough isn’t going to get me there.

So, today I am really grateful for my friend Jackie – for the inspiration she is and has been been for the past four years.  For the inspiration she was for me this morning.

Jackie has been having a great week, she has been unusually busy (even for her!) And she has been knocking it out of the park every day – at home, at work, working out, everywhere.  This morning she was talking about one specific incident that she referred to as her win this week. 

I thought, that is what I need.  I need to start noting my wins and I need to start pushing myself to have more wins.  Bigger WINS.   Because good isn’t good enough. 

Dan & I brushed Molly head to toe for well over an hour on Tuesday.   We took out a pile of hair as big as she is, sand, leaves, twigs, and more.  We could have stopped a dozen times or let her decide good  was good enough – but we went for the win! And I’m sure she has been grateful since.  She knows she looks good, we know she feels better. 💯

Our WIN this week – mine and Dan’s and Molly’s.  

Daily Food Diary – Day 324

Breakfast:

(1) c coffee (2)

(1) c cinnamon cheerios (200)

(1/4) c milk (28)

Lunch:

(1/2) c broth (16)

(8) Hint of Lime chips (200)

Snacks:

(1) tbsp raw local honey (40)

(1) snickerdoodle (90)

(15) g chipnuts (96)

Supper:

(1) c mashed potatoes (237)

(1) c green beans (44)

(1) tsp butter (34)

(6) Oz pork cutlets (360)

(1/2 c gravy (40)

Total consumed calories: 1387

Total used calories: 210

(30)  min walking (137)

(30) min treadmill (73)

Total net calories: 1177

Total calories goal: 1208 – 1177 = 31 under👍

Daily Food Diary – Day 323 of 365

by annemariedemyen, posted in 2025, Health and Fitness

This is Day 323 of my Daily Food Diary.  323 Days in and this is the closest I have come to missing posting my blog.  😳

Our humidity was finally down this morning, so I joined Dan and Molly for a  walk.   We stopped at the dog park for a while so Molly got in a good run with her friends, but set us back a bit.  

We got home and I did some poo cleanup in the yard, fed the squirrels, brought in the mail, and had a bath.  By then, I was just all sorts of off track for the day.

It has been almost five months since I started taking collagen supplements.  I have seen a number of benefits and a few changes in my health/body that I wasn’t expecting.

The weirdest change could be to my hands.  They feel a little better and they are stronger, but they also look different!

They look kind of alien- ish and the color is off  (seriously difficult to take pictures of my own  hands) but my veins (or arteries?) are almost gone.  The left side photos were taken in July.

I have been noticing the change for a few months.  Whatever is going on, my blood pressure and pulse are fine.  🤷‍♀️

Daily Food Diary – Day 323

Breakfast:

(1) c coffee (2)

(1/4) c milk (28)

(1) c brown sugar  Shreddies (210)

Lunch:

(2/3) c chicken broth (10)

(3/4) c Hamburger Helper Lasagna (210)

Snacks:

(1) tbsp honey (40)

(10) Hint of Lime Tortilla Chips (200)

Supper:

(1) Hungry Man Chicken Dinner (520)

(1) extra brownie (50)

Total consumed calories: 1360

Total used calories: 174

(30) min aerobics (174)

Total net calories: 1186

Net calories goal: 1208 – 1186 = 22 under 👎

That’s it for today.  TAKE CARE AND HAVE A GREAT DAY! 😊💖

In front of the main branch of our library.  We drove downtown just to see this elephant (a few years ago).   Im not surprised I hadn’t seen it before – it was almost impossible to see it when we were looking for it. 😂

Daily Food Diary – Day 322 of 365

by annemariedemyen, posted in 2025, Health and Fitness

Today is Day 322 of my Daily Food Diary.  With 46 weeks down, I have a mere 6 weeks left to my 2025 Daily Food Diary Challenge! 💥

This week, I have been trying to up my activity level.  Our weather isn’t really co-operating.  Yesterday it rained all day, so none of us went for our daily walk.  Today it is foggy, so Dan and Molly went without me.

Yesterday, I did do my aerobics and light weights.  I got on the treadmill last night, but had to pull the plug after ten minutes due to a severe coughing fit.  Dan and I did give Molly a good brushing yesterday, so that was a workout of sorts.

Molly, showing her appreciation for our efforts. 😆

Last night, I watched our evening news.  I generally avoid watching our news – preferring to read it online, where I can skip over the articles of little personal interest or those that will just serve to annoy me.

But, last night I watched the evening news.  Elections Saskatchewan announced that they were planning to do a test run of phone in voting for our next election,   plus they are looking at replacing Election Day with Election Week.   We currently have Advance Polling, Mail In Voting, Curbside Voting, Homebound Voting, and Personal Care Home and Hospital Voting. 

In last year’s provincial election, a paltry 54% of eligible voters exercised their right to vote.  So, Elections Saskatchewan has decided to take steps to make the election process easier.

Personally, I don’t care how votes are colleced,  as long as the votes are legitimate.  

But I don’t believe ‘easier’ is the way to go.  I think it cheapens the entire election process.   Easier seldom means better in my mind and rarely, if ever, brings out the best in people.  

Personally, I think we should look deeper if we want to really engage more people in the election process.   The problem isn’t access, it is apathy.  (In my mind)

Any thoughts?

Daily Food Diary – Day 322

Breakfast:

(1) c coffee (2)

(2) Eggo Waffles (180)

(2) tsp butter (68)

(2) tbsp syrup (104)

(3) slices bacon (130)

Lunch:

(1) c broth (5)

(8) Hint of Lime tortilla chips (200)

(1/2) c raspberries (32)

(1) snickerdoodle (90)

Snack:

(60) Oz water

(1) tbsp honey (40)

Supper:

(2) servings chicken caesar salad (630)

(2) Belgium chocolate cookies (107)

Total consumed calories: 1588

Less used calories: 271

(30) min aerobics. (174)

(30) min light weights (73)

(10) min treadmill (24)

Total net calories: 1317

Net calories goal: 1208 – 1317 = 109 over 👎

Daily Food Diary – Day 321 of 365

by annemariedemyen, posted in 2025, Health and Fitness

Today is Day 321 of my Daily Food Diary!🤗

I am not sure where this week is going, but it seems to be heading upwards! 🖕 (well that’s an awkward emoji)

Anyway… Sunday was rough.  It was foggy all day and my lungs were not happy.  I didn’t walk, didn’t workout, and didn’t sleep that night.

Yesterday, the humidity was lower.  I went for a morning  walk with Dan and Molly.  I did an aerobics workout and spent thirty minutes on the treadmill.   I did some cleaning up around here. And.. I slept like a rock last night.

Today, I got up to rain.  Obviously, the humidity is back up.  We did not walk – partly because of my lungs, mostly because our Molly dog does not like rain.

Nope!

I had a breakfast high in bacon protein.  I used my Aerobika to clear my lungs and I did my aerobics.   🤗

I plan to do light weights this afternoon, spend time on the treadmill, brush Molly dog – followed by swiffering, dusting, and cleaning the filters in our air purifiers.  (Because that’s what I do after brushing Molly. 😉)

Just working on getting through this unseasonably humid rainy season.

Daily Food Diary – Day 321

Breakfast:

(1) c coffee (2)

(1) c cheerios (200)

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

Lunch:

(1) c Campbell’s chicken broth (5)

(10) light salted chips (70)

Snacks:

(1) tbsp raw local honey (40)

(1) Oz Planters dry roast peanuts (162)

(36) Oz water

Supper:

(12) Oz carbonated water

(2) c Lasagna Hamburger Helper w/ lean ground beef, onions, and orange pepper (677)

(2) c Brussels sprouts w/ butter (180)

(1) snickerdoodle (90)

Total consumed calories: 1454

Total used calories:

(30) min walking (137)

(30) min aerobics (174)

(30) min treadmill (73)

Total net calories: 1070

Net calories goal: 1208 – 1070 = 138 under 👍

That’s it for today. Take care and have a great day! ❣️😋

Daily Food Diary – Day 320 of 365

by annemariedemyen, posted in 2025, Health and Fitness

Today is Day 320 of my Daily Food Diary. 😋

With fog blanketing the city yesterday, it was a long rough day.   It seems every time I celebrate a really good day, things have to go sideways.  There are not a lot of things that will trigger my asthma anymore, but fog will do it every time.

Anyways, I missed our walk yesterday morning due to the high humidity.  I wasn’t terribly active all day, and I rounded the day off with a poor night’s sleep. 

Fortunately, the humidity is down today so I am feeling much better.  I made the morning walk and even managed to hang onto Molly’s leash for the distance – almost.  Dan took her solo for a bit after I decided I was done.

There’s not much else happening around here today so here is a photo for anyone who needs a Monday boost.

One of daughter Jen’s regulars at Superstore gave it to her a while back.  I thought it was such a special random act of kindness.   Who couldn’t use an emotional support pickle! 💓💓💓

Daily Food Diary – Day 320

Breakfast:

(1) c coffee (2)

(2) scrambled eggs (182)

(3) slices bacon (130)

(2) potato patties (240)

(1/2) sm tomato (5)

Snacks:

(48) Oz water

(1) tbsp raw local honey (40)

Supper:

(1) Gin & tonic (130)

(1) Ham salad wrap (400)

(8) Lightly salted ripple chips (116)

(1) Oz onion chip dip (40)

(3) baby dill pickles (9)

(1) snickerdoodle (9)

Total consumed calories: 1384

Total used calories: 0

Total net calories: 1384

Net calories goal: 1208 – 1384 = 176 over 👎

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

Wascana Trails

Daily Food Diary – Day 319 of 365

by annemariedemyen, posted in 2025, Health and Fitness

Today is Day 319 of my Daily Food Diary. 😁

I missed my  walk with Dan and Molly this morning.  That was partly because I was making bacon for our Sunday Brunch.  Mostly, it was our 100% humidity.  Molly was anxious to get on with it and I knew waiting was not going to make it any better.  The fog is here to stay today.

I did do a more thorough than usual kitchen clean up after we ate.  I have an ivy plant from Jen hanging in our kitchen window.  I finally gave it a trim the other day. 

This was an old picture.  It got WAY more out of control after that.  The window was obliterated.
After the trim. 🤭

Now that we actually have light coming in through the window, it is worth a bit more elbow grease to keep the kitchen shining. 🙄

There isn’t a lot more planned for today.  I want to do some reading and clock some time on the treadmill. 

Later, Dan will probably watch the Grey Cup game since the Saskatchewan  Roughriders are playing.   🏈

Daily Food Diary – Day 319

Breakfast:

(1) coffee (2)

(2) Eggo waffles (180)

(2) tsp butter (68)

(2) tsp maple syrup (104)

Snacks:

(10) Hint of Lime tortilla chips (250)

(3) tsp salsa (12)

(2) Black licorice twizzlers (45)

(60) Oz water

(1) gin & tonic (130)

Supper:

(1) Homemade nachos (865)

Total consumed calories: 1656

Total used calories: 311

(30) minutes (174)

(30) minutes walking (137)

Total net calories: 1345

Net calories goal: 1208 – 1345 = 137 over 👎

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

Daily Food Diary –  Day 318 of 365

by annemariedemyen, posted in 2025, Health and Fitness

Today is Day 318 of my Daily Food Diary.   318 DAYS without a single miss! 🤩

Today, I am celebrating another non-scale victory.  This morning, I checked my blood pressure – 100/65.  I also checked my blood oxygen 95% and pulse 74 btm.  My scale fluctuates a few pounds every day, but today I weighed in at 122.6 pounds (normal for my 5′-1″).  All in all, not bad for my current age 70 yrs and 4 months. 😁

Yesterday, I received my latest Amazon order: 

Collagen drops for Molly (the jury is still out as to how they are helping her, but they obviously aren’t hurting and she seems to scratch less than she did)

A case for my new phone – It’s a teal wallet type that holds my bank cards, health card, driver’s license and the like.  It works for me – better than anything I could find here.  

And… pink earmuffs to keep my ears comfy, cozy on our Molly walks.

No, I did not know they would be that big and fluffy.   Also NO,  I will not care when it is 40 below and I am out plodding through the snow with Molly and Dan.

Daily Food Diary – Day 318

Breakfast:

(1) c coffee (2)

(23) brown sugar shreddies (210)

(1/4) c 2% milk

Snacks:

(1) apple (95)

(1/4) c Planters dry roast peanuts (324)

(14) low salt chips (130)

(1) snickerdoodle (90)

(48) Oz water

Supper:

(1) sourdough bun (190)

(2) top butter (68)

(3) Oz mini steaks (200)

(1/8) c mushrooms (5)

(1/4) c onions (15)

(1) c airfield French fries (115)

(2) Belgium chocolate cookies (95)

Total consumed calories: 1579

Total used calories: 210

(30) minutes walking (137)

(30) minutes treadmill (73)

Total net calories: 1369

Net calories goal: 1208 – 1369 = 161 over 👎

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

For our grandson Logan who turns four years old today.  We have never met him, but we think of him and his brother, Dominic every day. 💝

Daily Food Diary – Day 317 of 365

by annemariedemyen, posted in 2025, Health and Fitness

Today is Day 317 of my Daily Food Diary! 🌞

This morning we were up and about for an earlier that usual walk with Molly. We left the house at 8:30, just as a LOT of people were passing through the neighbourhood on their way to work and quite a few kids were making their way to school. Molly handled the extra foot and vehicle traffic quite well all things considered.

Our weather was fairly decent, but hard to believe it was as decent as our Weather Channel would have us believe. It was supposedly plus 13C with low humidity. It seemed pretty cool and damp to us but we were dressed accordingly so we were comfortable enough.

Yesterday, we had a quiet day around here. We had our walk and I did my aerobics. The rest of the day was spent getting our new phones in order and tidying up the house. I don’t know that I did anything out of the ordinary, but my lungs felt amazing when I headed off to bed last night. Absolutely clear, and I didn’t even cough when I took a few deep breaths just to check them out. I don’t know what happened, but I’ll take it when I can get it and I just hope there will be more days and nights like that in my future. 🤗

This morning, Dan is off for coffee with some of the guys that he worked with. Molly is down for a nap. I should get on with a workout or two while all is quiet on the home front.

Daily Food Diary – Day 317

Breakfast:

(1) c coffee (2)

(1) plain paratha (240)

(1) tbsp raspberry jam (50)

(1) tbsp peanut butter (105)

Lunch:

(1) cheese biscuit (129)

(3) oz roast chicken breast (75)

(1/3) c gravy (24)

Snacks:

(1) 315 ml Root Beer (170)

(1/2) c raspberries (32)

Supper:

(2) bowls vegetable beef barley soup (360)

(2) snickerdoodles (140)

Total Consumed Calories: 1327

Total Used Calories: 193

(30) minutes walking (137)

(30) minutes aerobics (174)

Total Net Calories: 1016

Net Calories Goal: 1208 – 1016 = 193 under 👍🏻

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

Regina Floral Conservatory – a few years ago.