celebrate – Seclusion 101 with AnneMarie

Daily Food Diary – Day 49 of 365

February 19, 2025June 25, 2025 by annemariedemyen, posted in 2025, Health and Fitness, Uncategorized

Good Morning! I am a few days late, but this morning I weighed in at 129.7 pounds. Yay!

Yesterday, I turned a corner with the app Lose It! that I have been working with the past few days. Two things that I really like –

(1) The app breaks down my daily calories into breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks. Regardless of what I am doing, I always do better if I break it down into smaller parts. This will help me to not only stick to an overall calorie budget for each day, but will also help me to make healthier choices throughout the day. 👍

(2) This app helps me to track my activity for the day and see how it affects my available calories. 🤸

I have used a Fitbit activity tracker before, but this is the first time I have used an app that budgets calories for the day, tracks calories consumed and calories used. I can see this becoming a really useful tool for me.

Note: I haven’t checked it out yet, but Lose It! also tracks the nutritional make up and values of the foods I eat. That will be very helpful as I continue to work on improving my diet this year. Also, while I am starting out with the basic free app, there are benefits to be had with a paid subscription that I will check out down the road.

Food Diary – Day 49 of 365

(1) c coffee (2)

(1) lg pear (133)

(1) Granola bar (160)

(24) oz water

(3) oz DK skinless turkey (160)

(6) Original Triscuits (120)

(1) c tea

(2) sq. dark chocolate (120)

(12) oz carbonated water

(1) lg garden salad with pan fried (in olive oil) white chicken (473)

Total Calories: 1169

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

Daily Food Diary – Day 46 of 365

February 16, 2025June 25, 2025 by annemariedemyen, posted in 2025

It is Sunday morning and I am celebrating 46 days in, eating more mindfully by tracking and posting my Daily Food Diary.

Dan, Molly, and I are also celebrating Molly’s third birthday! We aren’t doing much but Molly is going for a ride out to the cemetery for a visit with Dan’s dad, Nick who would likewise be celebrating his birthday today.

I can’t believe how fast these past two years have gone since Dan has been home full time. The first year of Molly’s life, Dan was working thirteen hour shifts, twenty four seven. That year lasted forever! I felt a profound sense of relief and gratitude for every day that we survived and counted the days until Molly would be a year old and capable of reining in her attitude and exuberance. (Spoiler alert – I’m still waiting, but things have improved now that Dan is retired. Dogs choose their own pack leader and Molly chose Dan to set some boundaries.)

**Cooling off. Also…. Wet fur is great for collecting sand, dirt, leaves, branches – pretty much anything she could drag into the house.**

**Molly going through her lapdog phase.**

**Having her first bath – thankful for Pet Smart bathing centres!**

**She loved company – especially if it was the grandkids**

Over the past two years, Molly has dialed it back a bit.

**With the grandkids…(Primrose & Molly)**

**Running at the dogpark (until four feet of packed snow turned the fence into a suggestion) 🤦**

**And just being our big, beautiful, goofy, girl MOLLY!**

Food Diary – Day 46

(1) c coffee (2)

(1) c Shreddies with milk and sugar (247)

(21) Tater tots (300)

(24) oz water

(1) c tea (1)

(25) Ripple chips (270)

(4) oz dark skinless turkey meat (183)

(1 1/2) c macaroni & cheese (350)

(1 1/2) c steamed brussel sprouts with butter, salt & pepper. (120)

(1) Side salad (150)

(12) oz carbonated water

(2) mini chocolate cupcakes (200)

Total calories: 1822

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

Year Two – Week Five

March 23, 2023March 23, 2023 by annemariedemyen, posted in Health and Fitness

Whoo Hoo!!! It is nine weeks since I fractured my proximal humurus and humurus head. I saw my orthopedic specialist today for an update on my latest x-rays and ultrasound and the news was amazing! I am healed – ALL healed.

I had natural healing, my bones stayed in place and healed perfectly and I am off of ANY restrictions. I can do Zumba, lift weights, wave my arms in the air like I just don’t care! I have to work on my range of motion for a bit but the doctor said I was a very good healer. 😁

I know it may partly be genetics but personally I think that it has helped considerably that I was in good shape before the ‘incident’ and that I have taken care of myself since.

I have been following doctor’s instructions and maintaining the limitations he had me on. I have been drinking my beet juice, taking my vitamins D and B12, and taking calcium and zinc. I have been doing aerobics virtually every day. And I have been meditating and keeping a positive attitude. 🤗🤗🤗

I am so excited. I never asked about a prognosis but at my age (almost 68), I kind of wondered whether I would ever be healed well enough to full on Zumba again or lift weights. I just didn’t know how strong a bone could be once it broke right through like that. Who knew?

Anyway, this is the best news I could hope for. I came home and did a full You Tube Zumba lesson. Our weather is mild today so I will go spend some time outside soaking in the sunshine and enjoying the fresh air.

Tonight, we are going to celebrate with KFC. Dan did buy steak and shrimp to barbecue for me but since I asked for chicken, we will do the steak supper tomorrow night.

**Molly will score a few treats herself, even if she was responsible for breaking my arm in the first place. 😂**

That is all for today. I am so excited to be back to my full fitness routine. In a few weeks, I can look forward to garden planting and getting some much needed outdoor maintenance and painting done.

Keep safe and have a great day! 🌞💞

January 28th – Take the Cake!

January 28, 2022January 28, 2022 by annemariedemyen, posted in Canadian Meal Options

Yesterday was one of those days that just does not recover around food. Dan brought me a Robins raisin bran muffins for breakfast. A huge muffin! It kept me going until supper. For supper, Dan and I both had leftovers. He had the leftover seasoned ground beef from nacho night, mixed into a dish of Spanish rice. It looked and smelled amazing. I had the leftover roast pork, warmed in a pan with butter, sliced onions, and fresh mushrooms, with a generous side of buttered brussel sprouts. It was delicious but not as photogenic as it sounds

Our less than heroic kitchen efforts yesterday, left me lacking anything for my January Canadian food blog, so I did what I had to do to stay on point. I assembled some historic photos for today’s cheat day.

Welcome to great cakes through the years!

**Celebrating my 4th birthday with sisters Denise and Elaine and brother Pete. My mother made delicious birthday** – **often angel food made from scratch – and a lot of eggs**!

**Salted caramel cake from the Co-op bakery. OMG!**

***Another July birthday cake for me.***

**Those were cakes that Jen made for Maddy & Prim💞**

**The German Chocolate cake that Dan made for his and Amanda’s wedding. Best chocolate cake EVER!**

That is it for today – I could fill a month of posts with cakes that we have enjoyed over the years. Lots of birthday cakes, wedding cakes, Christmas cakes, chocolate cakes, white cakes – you name it, we take it! It isn’t a celebration until the cake comes out. 🎉

That is it for today. Take care and have a great day! (And if you get the opportunity – have cake!)

July 26 – Older, Wiser, Better 😁

July 26, 2021July 26, 2021 by annemariedemyen, posted in Magical Moments - July 2021

So we have come to this. I am officially over sixty-five.

**My sister Elaine makes the cutest cards for family! I have saved every one she has sent us.** **I might have to frame this elephant one!** 💞

After working five brutal shifts, and the last three shifts being night shifts, Dan slept for three hours this morning and then came with me to do the weekly shopping. Tonight he is taking me out for a nice supper – I got to choose and since we had Arby’s last week, I chose The Keg. I love their prime rib and horseradish sauce. It is to die for! 🤗

Dan did have an extra special supper planned for us, but once again his romantic gesture was foiled. At least I wasn’t the one that foiled him this time. 😌

When we first started dating, we worked at the same company. One morning Dan snuck into my office and left a sweet note for me. He crumpled it up, so no one else would read it, and set it on my chair. I didn’t read it either. I tossed it in the wastebasket and cursed my boss for leaving his trash on my chair. 🙄

The next time Dan tried to romance me, he set a Hershey Kiss on the seat of his Jeep when he came to pick me up. I hopped right in – and sat on it. 🙄 At least he used chocolate that was wrapped in foil. That could have been really embarrassing. 🥺

Then Dan took me out for my birthday. After a lovely meal at Golf’s, several staff members burst out of the kitchen carrying a sparkler topped birthday cake and singing Happy Birthday! 🎂 I heard it was really nice. I was in the washroom. Our waiter did bring the little cake back, and it was delicious, as everything is at Golf’s. I think he even sang but I am fairly certain he sang alone. 🎶

Finally, the next year for my birthday Dan took me to Neo Japonica. Everything was magical and when the waitress brought me a saki martini, I was cautious (or lucky) enough that I did not toss it back and swallow my sparkling new engagement ring. 💞

This year, twenty-three years later, Dan decided that we should relive his triumph. He asked me if I remembered the name and address of the restaurant. It took me a couple of minutes but I did remember the name and I quickly Googled the address. Sadly Neo Japonica is no more. The unique building is still there – with the same verandah where we were seated that memorable night. Unfortunately, the ambiance of the Chuckwagon Hotdog and Ice Cream shop with the bright red shiny paint job just wouldn’t be the same. 😳

So, tonight we are off to a lovely supper at The Keg to celebrate my birthday and the anniversary of our engagement.

You are my greatest adventure too, Dear! 💞💞💞

Wishing all a magical happy day today! See you tomorrow! 💞

* Notice how I used the word ambiance two days in a row. It is not a word that I generally use that often. 🤔