Today is Day 300 of my Daily Food Diary! 💗 I remember when the days of my diary were in the double digits. 100 Days seemed incredibly distant. Here we are, with less than 100 Days to go and it seems like the year is all but over. Funny how things always look so much closer in the rear view mirror!
Earlier today, I tagged along for the morning walk with Dan and Molly. Fall has finally arrived.
Not only are the leaves changing color, they are also falling – fast and furious.
Dan just got home from shopping. He said this seems like a good day for wonton soup for supper. In the overall scheme of things, any kind of home made soup seems like a good plan for supper for the foreseeable future.
It is 290 days since I began postingmy Daily Food Diary! 💐
It has been Three Years and Eight Months since I began my Health and Fitness Journey.
During the time, there have been multiple setbacks – and just as many ‘get back ups‘. There have been many days of plodding through ‘another day in the life of’ and there have been many less days of the ‘TA DA moments‘.
Yesterday, was one of the ‘Ta Da moments’ type of day. Yesterday, I decided to up my weights from 5 pound dumbbells to 8 pounders. I set out for the same routine – three sets of 10 reps of 8 exercises (with dancing to some classic rock tunes before, between, and after each set). I wasn’t sure I could do it, but… I crushed it! TA DA!
It seems like a small victory, but reminded me of other victories over the years – like a ta da moment I had when I was struggling to overcome my anxiety a few years ago…
I had been struggling with anxiety for as long as I could remember. In fact, my very first memory was one of sheer terror as I crossed a bridge with my mother and my much less anxious sister, Lorraine.
This is a section of the original Source Swinging Bridge – chicken wire ‘railings‘ and a total width of maybe two feet?
I was no more than two years old and Lorraine was about five. As I clung to my mother’s leg, Lorraine ran, skipped, and bounced across this flimsy excuse of a bridge.
At some point, I decided if I could conquer this bridge, I could overcome my lifetime of anxiety. So, on our anniversary that year, Dan took me to Souris, Manitoba to confront my demons.
Thank God, the Town of Souris had retired the bridge from hell with this much sturdier and stabler, one.
I made a few trips back and forth on the new bridge, and while it wasn’t the challenge I was dreading, I took it as a win!
It wasn’t a complete ‘ah ha moment’. I still have anxious thoughts and experiences on occasion, but I do have a new appreciation for bridges. The act of crossing a bridge excites me now – at least as long as it is a modern, stable bridge – and I am not crossing it with sister Lorraine. 😂
Daily Food Diary – Day 290
Breakfast:
(1) c coffee (2)
(1) plain paratha (240)
(1) tbsp peanut butter (105)
(1) tbsp raspberry jam (50)
Snacks:
(1) pear (103)
(1/8) c mixed nuts (90)
(9) wine gums (158)
Supper:
(2 1/2) c spaghetti with meat sauce (718)
(2) Bick’s Baby Dill Pickles (10)
Total consumed calories: 1476
Total used calories: 466
(30) min walking (83)
(30) min aerobics (176)
(30) min light weights (73)
(1) hour house cleaning (135)
Total net calories: 1010
Net calories goal: 1229 – 1010 = 219 under 👍
That’s it for today. Take care and have a great day! ☺️💟
Today is Day 274 of my Daily Food Diary! ❣️With September done and gone, I am 9 months done and 3 months to go.
Every month, I choose one focus for my Daily Food Diary. For October, I have decided to go with Changing Seasons – and how they affect the foods we eat.
October started with the same seasonal indecision that we have been experiencing in Saskatchewan for a couple of weeks.
Yesterday, it was unseasonably warm. I spent time outside cleaning our Jeep and enjoying the weather. After supper, I went to pick up our granddaughter Maddy from her band clinic. I wore a sweater and left the air conditioner on.
This morning, I picked up Maddy to drive her to school. I wore my coat and turned the heater on. Such is autumn in Saskatchewan.
Last night, we went with some hearty fall Smoked Beans for supper – as well as a couple of summery Hot Dogs and a few potato chips. 🙄
It is impossible to predict which direction this month will take weather wise.
It has been nineteen and a half months since I took my first step to making my health and fitness my priority. Three severe lung infections and one broken arm later, I am still as committed as ever.
I am still following my doctor’s orders for managing my chronic lung conditions. I am still working out six days a week. I am still meditating on a regular basis.
Getting some fresh air and exercise with Dan and Molly (Waterfall Park – Regina)
Lately my focus has been on improving my diet. A few weeks ago, I decided I was tired of being bloated and nauseous and having sharp intestinal pains, heartburn and hiccups so I banished bakers and brewers yeast (an obvious culprit) from my diet. I started feeling better within days. Shortly thereafter, I started counting calories, practicing portion control, and seriously focussing on the nutritional value of the foods I ate.
Breakfast of champions. 😁
For the record – none of this has been easy. It has all been worth it, but it has not been easy.
The hardest thing I ever did (thirteen years ago) was to become a nonsmoker. I smoked off and on, a quarter to a half a pack a day, for thirty some years. Smoking was my way of coping with every stressful situation in my life. I knew all the reasons that I should quit, and I ‘tried‘ to quit countless times, but inevitably another crisis came along and I was reaching for a cigarette. When the crisis passed, I would struggle to start ‘trying’ to quit again.
Finally beating that devil has helped me on my current journey. It hasn’t made it easier – but it did make me stronger. Strong enough to get up and get started despite being sick and tired. Strong enough to stick with it despite setbacks. Strong enough to persevere and tackle my diet – even sacrificing yeasty favourites like KFC, Beef Dip, Donuts, Buttered toast AND red wine.
Every step I take in this journey gives me strength to take that next step, reach for that next level. With every level I reach, I anticipate what lies ahead, what challenges I have yet to conquer.
“Cause I’ve still got a lot of fight left in me.”. 🌞💞
Despite lower temperatures this morning and strong windgusts, Molly and I made our way around the neighbourhood on our daily walk.
Molly
I was somewhat concerned that following my recent health hiccup, our ever growing dog, and the strong winds, It might be a bit much for me today. Obviously, I am even stronger than I thought I was because the weather did not bother me a bit. When the windgusts hit me, which they did, they did not even have me struggling to breathe. I was good!
Molly, on the other hand, struggled. I have noticed her getting really edgy on our walks lately. She has seemed a little bothered by the crisp, dried leaves falling from the trees and hitting the ground – especially walking through the park where there is a constant snap, crackle, and pop of falling foliage.
Today with the strong winds, the leaves were not only falling, but drifting and piling up on the paths and sidewalks that we travelled. Molly tried dodging them, but since that didn’t work, she tried rolling in them and finally running her nose through them like a giant, white, hairy, truffle hog (or dog as the case may be). It might not have been a huge deal if I had not been on the other end of her leash, but since I was it was indeed a bit of an issue. I did more than my share of bumbling and stumbling as she tried to make her way through, over, and past the offending, ubiquitous leaves.
With no shortage of trees in our neighbourhood, Molly’s aversion to falling and fallen leaves may make for a long autumn.
Unfortunately, our only hope for an end to this season is the onslaught of the next – which will undoubtedly bring with it a barrage of falling and fallen snow. 🥺
We will get what we get when we get it! I just hope we find a way to bumble and stumble our way through it. Here is to hoping for an early spring!
That is it for today. Take care and have a great day! 💞🌞🌬️🍃🍃🍃🍃
Summer is officially over! Autumn has arrived and, as usual, it has arrived with a hint of the upcoming winter in the air. Really, who needs that – especially in Saskatchewan, where winter brings ice, snow, frigid temperatures, short days, and long nights? 🥺
Chilly as it is, Molly and I did get outdoors this morning. Since she destroyed yet another harness yesterday, her training harness no less, we had to revert to one of her older ones. That made our outing a bit more challenging. I did play ball with her for a while before we headed out, just to wear her down a little bit.
Taking a break on the ball diamonds.
Our walk didn’t go great, but we got home in one piece so that counts as a win. Time to find Molly a new harness!
We are temporarily Jeepless this week. It went in to the shop for a new oxygen sensor, which is proving to be problematic. The latest news is that there are none to be had in Regina. I am not sure why the dealership wouldn’t keep a few on hand. It’s not like Jeep Cherokees are rare around here. Black Jeep Cherokees are so ubiquitous that it looks like a funeral procession every time we drive down a street, through a drive through, or across a parking lot.
The girls made it home yesterday morning. They had a fairly good trip. Genie slept through the train ride from London to Toronto. I guess it wasn’t as exciting as she had anticipated. Their hotel room was adequate. I don’t know if either of them were particularly pumped about the flight. They just wanted to be back home!
Landing in Regina 😊
Genie and her fiance Alec dropped by for a short visit and to drop off a few souvenirs that Genie picked up down east. They will be back for supper on Sunday, along with Brook, her boyfriend Kale, and her daughter (our great-granddaughter) Alaska. Genie just couldn’t wait that long to show off her newest tattoo…
An elephant for Grandma! 💓
Genie did send me a number of photos this morning but I will save them for another day. 🌞
I have a pot of chili on the stove that is ready to take the chill off the day. Time to whip up some garlic toast and supper is served.
That is about it for today. Between Molly and waiting for calls from the shop, my day is a bit backwards today. I got my walk and weights done but haven’t done my dancing, meditation, or had my beet juice yet. I know I have said it before but…. I can’t imagine how I ever had time to work before I retired! 😂
It is hard to find a lot of ‘positivity’ in a day that rings in at +5 Celsius and the world is turning a nasty shade of Saskatchewan greige but it is there if you look hard enough.
Kat and I geared up and went for a 3.67 kilometer walk around the neighbourhood. That was hardly a record for us this summer but it is a good 3.67 kilometers further than we used to walk on a daily basis. 😋
I have no idea what this is – the colour leaves something to be desired but I thought those hairy balls were cool. Baby tumbleweeds maybe?I don’t know what these little cuties were either but they were blooming along the path in our neighbourhood park.
Time to get out and start harvesting everything I can from the garden. There is frost in the forecast for tonight so we will have to cover anything that isn’t ready to pick. 🤦
Have a great day! If there is heat and sunshine anywhere, get out and enjoy it! Send pics🙄
Autumn is bearing down on us in Saskatchewan. The days are shorter, the air is cooler and damper, the leaves are falling, and the trees and grass are fading to greige. For those not from the construction industry, ‘GREIGE’ is a color created by some sick bastard who thought grey and beige were not dull and depressing enough on their own. He, or she as the case may be, combined the two and greige became the official color of autumn in Saskatchewan.
Anyone not from Saskatchewan, could easily believe winter would be our toughest season of the year, That is not the case, at least not for me, and I have lived here for 64 years. Winter can be harsh, with our minus fifty days, but the majority of winter is spent indoors or in vehicles and we do have coats, hats, gloves and boots to protect us from the elements when we must venture out. Icy roads may be difficult to navigate, but to be honest, the ice pretty much brings traffic to a crawl, so driving is not as treacherous as one would expect. As for the mountains of snow, yes it is more than an inconvenience, as it tends to fall or drift where it is least welcome, but at least it is not greige. So, there is that. For those who are inclined to participate in winter sports, such as hockey, curling, tobogganing or cross country skiing , winter in Saskatchewan is probably a joy. I am not one who is so inclined, but I can deal with winter.
Winter has one absolute advantage over autumn. As we struggle to keep warm and mobile throughout a Saskatchewan winter, we know there is a light at the end of the tunnel. We know spring is coming, with blue skies, green grass, and warm sunny days. In autumn, we know that the only thing at the end of the tunnel is a Saskatchewan winter.
This autumn holds a special place in my heart. This will be my last autumn before I retire. This is the last season, where it will truly matter to me if the days get shorter and the nights get longer, if the air gets cooler or if the province is covered in a shroud of greige as I travel back and forth to work with the masses. Next year, when autumn arrives, I will have the option of curling up with my dog and a hot cup of tea in my cozy little home, ready to ignore it to my heart’s content.
Seclusion 101 with AnneMarie 