Yesterday was a pretty good day. I only made one block of the walk I set out on with Dan and Molly. I could have handled the cold and wind, but the rain was a bit much. I came home and did my aerobics and weights – plus I did half an hour on the treadmill before supper. 👍
For supper last night, I decided we should indulge in some Taco Time. One of the most mind-boggling things I have found since I began tracking my Daily Food Diary is how many calories there are in such meals. I knew it was bad, but I had no idea. 🤦
Obviously, last night’s indulgence is a hard one to report on my Daily Food Diary, but it’s all about balance. Last night, I was balancing out the salad I had for supper on Saturday. 🙄
Last night, for the second night in a row, we put the air purifier from our living room in our bedroom. I slept really well both nights and with minimal coughing before I fell asleep and after I woke up. I have to try it for a few days, but we might have to get another one before we get tired of hauling this one back and forth between rooms.
Daily Food Diary – Day 293
Breakfast:
(1) c coffee (2)
(1) c Cinnamon Cheerios (200)
(1/4) c 2% milk (28)
Lunch:
(4) air fried chicken wing flats & (4) drummets (440)
(14) Lay’s lightly salted ripple chips (140)
(36) oz water
(8) oz lemon water
Supper:
(1) 12 oz A & W Rootbeer (170)
(1) Small Mexi Fries (265)
(2) hardshell tacos (520)
(1) crisp meat burrito (390)
Total calories consumed: 2155
Total calories used: 329
(30) min aerobics (176)
(30) min weights (73)
(30) min treadmill (80)
Total net calories: 1826
Net calories goal: 1229 – 1826 = 597 over 👎
That’s it for today. Take care and have a great day! ❤️😊
Yesterday and today our weather has been WARM and WET. I think we have gotten more rain in these two days than we have had all summer. And the humidity is through the roof!
Things are looking green and clean around here, but I can’t imagine that this is what the farmers need right now.
I am taking one final (regular) workout day off today but I am excited about getting back into my routine on Monday. It will be fun to see what I can do on our ‘new to us’ treadmill, now that my lung infection is cleared up.
Today, I will proceed with my fall cleaning and do a bit of baking.
Dan picked up a nice bag of apples yesterday, so I am going to make a double batch of Apple Crisp to split with Jen and Genie. They are both excited and it will save everyone here from reading about Dan and I eating one piece of Apple Crisp a day for the next month. 😊
The flower pots are some of the ones that Dan bought this week to use on the new plant rack he is making next summer, using a repurposed pool ladder.
Daily Food Diary – Day 255
Breakfast:
(1) c coffee (2)
(1) c Cheerios (147)
(1/4) c 2% milk (28)
Lunch:
(12) Doritos (153)
(2) oz shaved turkey (60)
(1) small tomato (22)
Snacks:
(1/3) c mixed nuts (216)
(1/2) c beef broth (5)
Supper:
(1 1/2) servings nachos (975)
Total calories consumed: 1608
Total calories used: 360
(30) min. cooking (56)
(1 1/2) hour house cleaning (202)
(30) min. pet care (103)
Total net calories: 1248
Net calorie goal: 1229 – 1248 = 18 over 👎
That’s it for today. Take care and have a great day! 😊💕
Today is Day 254 of my 2025 Daily Food Diary! 💓 I have (so far) been successful in putting out my daily post. 👍 I have been enjoying recapping my days in this manner and I have been successful in making some beneficial changes to my diet.
For the reasons above, I have decided to maintain this project through 2026 – with one slight change….
Rather than tracking my calories consumed each day, I am going to track my calories used.
I feel that I am ready for this move and I am excited to explore new ways and means to keep active. AND I am excited to share my conquests with all of the regular and occasional visitors to my blog.
Getting down to the core health issues that have plagued my entire life and discovering ways to deal with them and improve my fitness level and quality of life has been an amazing adventure for me.
I know it has been less than exciting, and more than a bit painful, for those who have been following me for the past +3 years.
I get that, and I appreciate it. But the wins I make are not made in the grand gestures or the five star days. They are an accumulation of all of the moments, the choices, the bits and pieces of knowledge that I pick up along the way.
It’s not fireworks and shooting stars – but from where I was three years ago to where I am now, I think it’s pretty impressive. 😁
Two family weddings – only 4 years but a lifetime apart. 💞
Daily Food Diary – Day 254
Breakfast:
(1) c coffee (2)
(1) Denver breakfast wrap (560)
Lunch:
(1) BBQ chicken drumstick (135)
(6) Hint of Lime tortilla chips (150)
Snacks:
(1/4) c mixed nuts (180)
(3/4) c Maple Walnut Ice Cream (225)
(2) tbsp chocolate sauce (105)
(48) ox water
Supper:
(1 1/2) serving Baked French Onion Soup (552)
Total consumed calories: 1909
Total used calories: 419
(30) minutes walking (53)
(30) minutes cooking (56)
(1) hour gardening (176)
(1) hour house cleaning (135)
Total net calories: 1490
Net calories goal: 1229 – 1490 = 261 over
That’s it for today. Take care and have a great day! 💞☺️
We are home and our heatwave is over. It is forecast to be cooler and wetter today. The humidity is already 100%. (Good thing I watered our garden yesterday!)
Between wildfire smoke and high humidity this summer, my lungs are struggling. I can’t imagine how I would manage if I wasn’t on inhalers, using my Aerobika, doing aerobics, breathing exercises, weights and cardio, walking (weather permitting) – and running (a little bit).
It’s funny, in an odd way, that I used to think working out was for athletes and healthy young people who joined gyms to keep in shape.
I am infinitely grateful that I have learned that living a life based on exercise and healthy habits is for anyone wanting to enjoy quality of life. (Even seventy year olds with multiple chronic lung conditions 😊).
Daily Food Diary – Day 216
Breakfast:
(1) c coffee (2)
(1) c Cheerios – no milk (147)
Lunch:
(4) radishes – red/white (21)
(1) c broccoli – green (31)
(2) pcs celery – green (14)
(1/2) c red pepper – red (23)
(1) tbsp Dilly Dip (80)
(1 1/2) oz marble cheese (170)
(2) oz Piller’s Ham (57)
(9) Lay’s wavy lightly salted chips (131)
Snacks:
(48) oz water
(11) Hint of Lime chips (275)
(3) tbsp salsa – red (12)
(1) Rolo ice cream cone (310)
Total net calories: 1273
Net calorie goal: 1222 – 1273 = 51 over
That’s it for today. Take care and have a great day! ☺️❣️
I haven’t planted sunflowers for years, but always manage to have a few of them pop up in our flower bed. I don’t have the heart to pull them out as they have always been granddaughter Maddy’s favourite flower.
I am posting a bit later than usual this morning because I went to see my respiratory therapist for my annual lung function test.
The test itself is not going to win any awards – or bring up any discussion of oxygen tanks 🤗, but it was a good appointment.
Katie cut me some leeway for the muscle I pulled during a coughing fit yesterday. It was painful when I did it, and much worse after I had a hot bath. But Dan rubbed CBD oil on the affected area three times and I put an ice pack on it twice. It is much better today, but still tender enough to be an issue doing all the deep breaths for the tests
Also, this past week has been horrid for humidity and forest fire smoke – both of which have a detrimental effect on my breathing. The good news is that today the humidity is down and the smoke is gone!
I told Katie that I was feeling much better this year because I had gotten a handle on my diet – especially my sugar consumption. I mentioned that my Daily Food Diary helped immensely in making me more mindful of what I was eating. (Especially my ‘throughout the day’ snacking). She said she had a relative who was struggling with her diet, and she was going to mention this to her. Then she said how much she enjoys my appointments because she always learns something new. I appreciate how much I have learned from Katie over the years, but it made me feel really good that I have been giving something back.
Finally, I don’t usually wear nail polish but I had done my nails for Genie & Alec’s wedding last week. I had to remove the nail polish before I went for my appointment. I noticed that my nails are significantly stronger and healthier since I started taking collagen supplements a couple of weeks ago. That was a bonus that I was not expecting this soon! 👍
Daily Food Diary – Day 205
Breakfast:
(1) c coffee (2)
(1) c Honey Nut Cheerios (147)
(1/4) c 2% milk (28)
Lunch:
(3/4) serving nachos
(1) almond flour/chocolate chip cookie (50)
(48) oz water
Supper:
(7) oz ribeye steak (490)
(1) tbsp BBQ sauce (25)
(1) sm. Baked potato (80)
(3) tsp butter (103)
(1/4) c green onion (10)
(1) c fried mushrooms (44)
(1) ear of corn (78)
Total net calories: 1229
Net calorie goal: 1229! 🙌
Seriously, I got that dead-on without even trying. 🙂
* Highlighted items contain significant collagen or significantly contribute to the production of collagen
That’s it for today. Take care and have a great day! 😊❤️
It is 194 Days since I started my Daily Food Diary! 😁🎈
I have a few random topics to touch on today:
On Saturday, I had a major craving for a root beer.. I took a hard pass and had carbonated water. Yesterday, I was looking to have an afternoon snack. Being Sunday, I was thinking of something high in calories and low in nutrition… I had a pear and a handful of raspberries. My Daily Food Diary continues to work for me. 🤗
Ten days ago, I started taking collagen supplements. I don’t know what I was looking for but I wasn’t expecting to see any notable change for six weeks to five months. Oddly enough, for three mornings now I have woken up without stiff, achy hands – for the first time since I can ever remember. 🤔
After one nice warm day of sunshine, we are back to cool, wet weather. We took Molly for her walk before the rain started. We went to Northgate Mall. Dan got a haircut while I wandered the halls counting empty storefronts. We both got wet getting back to the Jeep. 🌨️
Today it is 3 Years and 5 Months since I started my Health & Fitness lifestyle. Last night, I remembered how I used to get a brutal stabbing pain in my right side every time I twisted sideways. I know it was from Slipping Rib Syndrome (floating ribs that slip out of place). But that doesn’t happen anymore. It hasn’t for at least a couple of years. The random benefits of living a healthy, active lifestyle never cease to amaze me. 😁
Daily Food Diary – Day 194
Breakfast:
(1) c coffee (2)
(1) tsp butter (34)
(2) scrambled eggs (182)
(2) Eggo waffles (180)
(2) tbsp Maple syrup (110)
(3) slices bacon (130)
Snacks:
(1) Pear (103)
(10) Raspberries (10)
(48) oz water
Supper:
(1) Ham salad wrap (196)
(15) Light Salt potato chips (78)
(1) serving rhubarb cheese cake (227)
Total Net Calories: 1187
Net calorie goal: 1229 – 1187 = 42 under 👍
* Highlighted items contain significant collagen or significant contribute to the production of collagen
That’s it for today. Take care and have a great day! 🌞💝
It is hard to believe that in less than 157 short days, we went from this….
Walking around Waterfall Park with Molly
To this ….
Finished planting garden! ☺️
I am super happy about getting the garden in. We have some yard maintenance left to do, but it will happen.
This year, I added more perennials to the garden… strawberries, asparagus, and rhubarb. At this point, we are looking at what will work for our future selves – what will be sustainable and maintainable.
I love spring, I love our yard, and I love working in the dirt and seeing it come to life . But realistically, it is getting harder every year and we have to deal with.
My lungs are struggling to deal with what Mother Nature is handing out – especially these days. Humid days, smokey days, dusty days… Fresh cut grass, pollen and tree seeds. If it’s not one thing, it is another.
Notice tree seeds around the base of steps and by bricks.
After I finished the garden yesterday, I tackled the tree seeds. Our neighbours on each side of us have one big beautiful tree each (elm possibly). In the spring, they shed millions (billions possibly) of seeds, which land in our yard – in every nook and cranny and creating drifts of allergenic plant life on our patios. Besides the grief they cause my lungs, every seed that finds a speck of dirt will sprout. By the time we see a sprout, it has roots a foot long – each one a battle to uproot.
Yesterday, I dragged out the shop vac and vacuumed our patios and walkways…. (I do the garden by hand).
Shop vacs are not my friend. They do not follow, they come with long extension cords to trip over. And best of all, much like campfires – no matter where I am relative to a shop vac, the exhaust is in my face. In this case, the exhaust being fine dust and tree seed bits.
The good news is I got the bulk of the little beggars. The rest will ultimately hitch a ride on our large fluffy dog and come to live in our house – on floors and furniture and bedding.
While I feel like I am about one bad day away from respiratory failure, I am doing fairly well. My blood oxygen was 96 percent this morning. By the time I clear my lungs, I will be ready to do my aerobics and get on with my day. My rainy, humid day…😁
Daily Food Diary – Day 157
Breakfast:
(1) c coffee (2)
(1/2) grapefruit (39) (1 SVG)
(1/2) tsp sugar (8)
Lunch:
(1/2) c egg salad (118) (1/2 SVG)
(1) c Romaine lettuce (1/2 SVG)
(18) Onion & Garlic chips (232)
(60) oz water
Supper:
(12) oz carbonated water
(4) oz barbecue lean ground beef (243)
(4) oz macaroni salad (258)
(1/2) tomato (11)
(1/2) c onions (30)
(1/2) c mushrooms (23)
(1) tbsp horseradish (7)
*** Total vegetables (1 SVG)
(1) serving Apple Crisp (227) (1 SVG)
Total net calories: 1092
Net calories goal: 1238 – 1092 = 146 under 👍
Total Fruits & Vegetables: 4 servings
Fruits & Vegetable goal: 7 servings
That’s it for today. Take care and have a great day! ☺️💕
Today marks 142 Days since I began posting my Daily Food Diary.
Today also marks what would have been my Mother’s 107th birthday! There are two things that make time fly by as we age – having grandchildren and losing parents.
Mom with Rory and Genie.
It has been 12 years since Mom passed away and about 20 years since this photo was taken. It never seems possible how many years have passed.
I always knew, but it is only since Mom is gone, that I fully appreciate how hard she worked to provide a home for us. I see posts from young mothers talking about how hard parenting is. My Mother didn’t really talk about it that much. She probably didn’t have time. 🙄
I am the youngest of six siblings, spanning fourteen years. My Mother first had indoor plumbing when I was SIX years old. I remember boiling water to do dishes. I can’t imagine the work involved in filling her wringer washer, processing each load of clothes, and hauling it out to the line to dry. I will never forget the smell of frozen laundry being hauled in during the winter and the sight of Dad’s long johns – stiff as a board and leaning against the sofa to defrost. Our clothes were always clean and fresh. Our socks always matched and much of our clothes and household linens were ironed – every week.
The laundry was only one of multiple herculean tasks that my mother performed on a regular basis. She sewed, knitted, or crocheted much of our clothes and household linens.
Our home was always full of fresh baking and bountiful meals. Always! And come fall, she spent her days canning, pickling, and preserving.
My Mother never stopped at the basic necessities. In the spring I am reminded of her so much. As I am out working in our yard and garden, I remember her huge garden – rows and rows of corn and peas, lettuce, beets, cucumbers, tomatoes and the like. But it didn’t stop there. From the ‘rock garden’ to every nook and cranny and corner of the yard my Mother grew flowers. Gorgeous flowers! And nary a weed to be found.
Our home was ALWAYS clean but on holidays it shone! (And Mother never met a holiday she didn’t love). Obviously Christmas and Easter were the BIG ones, but every birthday, Thanksgiving, and Canada Day was celebrated. I think she may have made up a few holidays just for the opportunity to decorate and celebrate.
I don’t remember my Mother ever being in any particular rush but she had hard work and efficiency down to a science. Even on a shoestring (and that shoestring got pretty thin at times) our house ran like clockwork. And she ran it with classical music playing in the background on our cabinet phonograph. I have no idea how she managed to stow away enough money to buy that phonograph or the racks of records she played, but she got her money’s worth out of it!
Anyway, I know it’s a few years late, but thank you Mom. For everything. I may not have always noticed all you did for us, but I sure appreciate it now. 💞
That’s it for today. Take care and have a great day! ❤️☺️
Happy Birthday, Mom! If you need me I will be out back trying to transplant a pansy without killing it!
*** Funny story – one year I had Genie and her stepsister helping me transplant lettuce seedling (don’t judge – I cannot grow lettuce from seeds). Apparently, I cannot ‘teach’ gardening either. Genie had a perfect little row of lettuce plants. Brook had a perfect little row of lettuce plants deep in the ground – with roots topside up, swaying in the sunshine. 😂
It has been 111 Days since I began my Daily Food Diary. That is not long, but living in Saskatchewan we have cycled through all four seasons already. Today we have returned to winter. Yay snow! 🥶☃️ (For anyone who missed our summer, it happened on Easter Sunday, and lasted for the better part of an hour). 🙄
To date, my Daily Food Diary has focused on the quality, quantity, and nutritional value of the food we eat. Today, I am focusing on the cost.
Food security is a major concern around the globe. Even in Canada, food affordability has become a major issue for many. The cost of nutritional food, is seen as a particular issue.
I can relate to the struggle for those who have growing families to feed. I was there, and even though prices were not as high as they are now, it was difficult. Working outside of the home, while providing nutritious meals for my family didn’t help. Having the time and energy to shop, much less prepare and cook meals was a challenge.
Fortunately, my Mother did introduce us to a number of healthy, economical dishes that we, and in turn our families grew up on – homemade stews, soups, casseroles and the like.
Eating well, isn’t just a matter of survival, it is the difference between surviving and thriving. That does not change at any time in our lives.
Entering our senior years, and with our specific health issues, Dan and I are realizing how important the nutritional value of our diet is. And on a somewhat limited pension income, how much our diet costs.
We are fortunate in many ways:
1. Dan does our grocery shopping and he is really good at it. He knows prices, he knows what is in season for vegetables and fruits, he knows our stores and which products to buy where, he reads the complete nutritional label on foods, he is phasing out the ‘junk food’ and focussing on the nutrient rich foods. 👍
2. We have a large, stand up freezer, that we bought at an amazing price. Not only can we buy our meat, frozen vegetables, etc in quantity when it is on sale – but it is also so easy to see what we have and rotate it on a date basis.
3. We also have a Food Saver freezer packaging appliance. This was well worth the cost of the unit and the price of the plastic rolls that we use. Our frozen meats and garden vegetables stay fresh for months.
4. We seldom eat out or have take-out, especially fast food. With my having to avoid yeast and sugar, and Dan having to avoid salt, we just cannot eat what we do not make. And the money we save, leaves money in our budget for better food choices.
5. Being retired, and often sharing kitchen duties, we have the time and necessary skills to prepare most of our meals from scratch. That is always important for controlling additives, yeast, salt, processed sugar, and the like. It is also cost effective in many ways – including controlling waste. When our vegetable drawers are filled with produce on the verge of their best before date, we make up a large pot of soup or stew or stir-fry and save it all from the waste bin. Leftover meats find their way into fried rice, casseroles, omelets, and the like. No wasted protein and again no wasted cost.
6. We occasionally, ‘share’ groceries with daughter Jen. If either of us has the opportunity to buy a large quantity of fresh produce at a good price, but we know we cannot use it before it spoils, we will buy it and split it between our households while it is still fresh.
7. Last, we plant a small vegetable garden every year. Dan invested the time and energy to create steel pipe garden planters that take little time or effort to maintain over the summer. We enjoy the quality of our freshly picked vegetables and freeze, can, or dry anything we cannot use right away.
It is 105 Days since I started my Daily food diary. That is 15 Weeks ! 🥳
I have learned a few lessons in these past few weeks. The biggest thing that I have learned has been how getting a handle on yeast and sugar is going to make a huge difference to my health in general – but specifically to my respiratory health. I have been avoiding yeast for a couple of years and that has made a big difference, especially to my digestive health. These last few days, I have been avoiding as much processed sugar as possible. That has already made a huge difference to my respiratory health.
I have been diagnosed with asthma – a genetic disease, which is triggered by stress and allergies. I can manage that by taking preventative inhaled steroids, rescue inhalers, stress management, and avoiding allergens (like fresh cut grass). I have also been diagnosed with COPD, bronchiectasis, and bronchiolitis. They all have understandable causes. Management, has been an issue. The issue with all of them is the amount and consistency of the mucus that they produce. If I can get a long term solution to that with diet and hydration, it will be a gamechanger for sure. I seem to finally be on the right track. That is so much more than I could have hoped for when I started this Daily Food Diary fifteen weeks ago!
Food Diary – Day 105
Breakfast:
(1) c coffee (2) (4.7 mg)
(2) slices back bacon (35) (500 mg)
(2) potato patties (240) (420 mg)
Snacks:
(48) oz water
(1/8) c Dill Pickle Peanuts (113) (146mg ) (.5g)
(1/8) c unsalted peanuts (43)
Supper:
(1 1/2) c Rice (363)
(3) oz pork tenderloin (125) (62.1 mg)
(1/4) c red onion (15)
(1/2) c canned mushrooms (20) (333 mg)
(1/4) c red pepper (12) (1.5 mg)
(1) c Bok Choy (60)
(1/2) c celery (8) (40.4 mg)
(2) tsp olive oil (79)
(1/8) tsp seasoning salt (190 mg)
(3/4) tbsp soya sauce (11) (458 mg)
(1) tbsp butter (103) (95 mg)
(3) spring rolls (135) (330mg) (2.2 g)
(1) egg roll (100) (270 mg) (2 g)
(1) tsp plum sauce (6) (5 mg) (1.3 g)
Total Net Calories: 1283
Net calorie goal: 1259 – 1283 = 24 over 🙄
Total Sodium: 2854.7 mg
Sodium goal: 1500 to 2300 mg 🙄
Total Processed Sugar: 6 grams
Processed sugar goal: <25 grams 👍
That’s it for today! Take care and have a great day! 💓☺️
Seclusion 101 with AnneMarie 