Tag: Thanksgiving

Daily Food Diary – Day 330 of 365

by annemariedemyen, posted in 2025, Health and Fitness

Today is Day 330 of my Daily Food Diary. 🔥

Today our friends and family in the USA are celebrating  Thanksgiving. While we, in Canada, celebrated in October, we are thinking of you and wishing the best for you and yours during this holiday season. 

My day started off on the slightly rocky side.  While I was paying some bills online, I tried to check into our Canadian Tire account on my new phone.  Eventually, I managed to get myself locked out of my account.  I called their 1-800-welcome to hell hot line.   Ten minutes later, I was finally on hold to speak to a human.  Never happened.  I finally hung up to get ready to walk Molly.

Now for the wins..

1) Last night I made a roast beef supper for Dan & I.  The roast came out perfectly as well as all the sides.  🤗

2) For the third day in a row, Molly and I walked solo. (Dan is doing much better but he had a routine Dr’s appointment this morning.) It was COLD out and there were multiple distractions to be had – but Molly was exceptionally co-operative.  We went the full circuit and  I coughed ZERO times!  🎉

Cold and frosty!
Molly sat patiently while I photographed the frost. 

3) When we returned from our walk, I tried my Canadian Tire app and whoops hoo, I got in on my first try. 😅

Daily Food Diary – Day 330

Breakfast:

(1) c coffee(2)

(2) eggo waffles (180)

(3) slices bacon (130)

(1) tsp butter (34)

(2) tbsp maple syrup (104)

Snacks:

(36) Oz water

(4) pcs black licorice (19)

(15) light salted Lays wavy chips (218)

(1) Oz onion chip dip (40)

Supper:

(6) Oz roast beef (376

(1) c oven roasted potato (255)

(1 1/2) cup oven roasted vegetables – onion, carrots, celery (37)

(1/2) c gravy (50)

(1) tbsp horseradish (7)

(1) sidesalad w/ French dressing (246)

(12) Oz carbonated water

Total consumed calories: 1769

Total used calories: 337

(30) min walking (137)

(30) min aerobics (200)

Total net calories: 1432

Net calories goal: 1208 – 1432 = 224 over 👎

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

Happy Thanksgiving

Daily Food Diary – Day 285 of 365

by annemariedemyen, posted in 2025, Health and Fitness

Today is Day 285 of my Daily Food Diary! 💖

Today is also our Canadian Thanksgiving. Today as always,  I am thankful that Dan & Molly & I have each other, our family & friends, our health, a roof over our heads, food for our table, a reliable vehicle, and a warm, comfortable bed.   

Yesterday, we had our first snow of the season.  (Which TBH I was not so grateful for).  🙄

After three very busy days, I took a break  to read, relax, and enjoy a quiet day with Dan and Molly.

I don’t have a lot more planned for today.  We got bundled up and took Molly for a walk earlier this morning.  The cold wasn’t too bad but the air was still thick and humid from all the rain and snow yesterday. I struggled a bit, but managed the full walk.

It will be a challenge to get back up to speed with all of my workouts this week.   I am fighting the urge to hibernate until spring returns. 🌷

Daily Food Diary – Day 285

(1) c coffee (2)

(2) potato patties (240)

(1) 2 egg Denver omelet (235)

Snacks:

(36) oz water

(15) raspberries (15)

Supper:

(12) oz carbonated water

(2) servings nachos (975)

(1) PC lemon meringue pie (303)

Total consumed calories: 1770

Net calories goal: 1229 – 1770 = 541 over 👎

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

Daily Food Diary – Day 282 of 365

by annemariedemyen, posted in 2025, Health and Fitness

Today is Day 282 of my Daily Food Diary! 💝

Today is the day after we celebrated our family’s Thanksgiving (which is actually in a few days).

Being retired for five years now, I have gotten pretty comfortable with our quiet little life – generally Dan, our dog Molly, and I.  

Putting together a complete turkey supper for ten people, has become a tad outside my comfort zone – especially with the glitches and such that come with such an endeavour. 

As usual, people stepped up to help bring it all together.  The newlyweds (Genie and Alec) did MORE than their part –  making the salad and then doing the endless dishes and pots and pans after supper. Alec’s Mom, rolled up her sleeves and carved the turkey which Dan and I both appreciated!

Since our house was in order by the end of the evening, I spent this morning over at daughter Jennifer’s  – helping her to get their house tidied up before she heads back to work for the weekend.  🙂

This afternoon, I have kept busy making turkey broth and packaging cabbage rolls for the freezer.

Daily Food Diary Day 282

Breakfast:

(1) c coffee (2)

(26) lightly frosted shreddies (200)

(1/4) c milk (28)

Lunch:

(1) c beef stew (184)

(24) oz water

Supper:

(3) oz dark turkey (175)

(1) c mashed potatoes (237)

(10) asparagus spears (33)

(3/4) c corn (105)

(1) Yorkshire pudding (100)

(1/2) c gravy (40)

(1) sour cabbage w/pork and rice roll (197)

(1) PC lemon meringue pie (303)

(3) oz red wine (75)

Total consumed calories: 1679

Total used calories: 608

(5) hours food prep/cooking (555)

(30) min walking (53)

Total net calories: 1071

Net calories goal: 1229 – 1071 = 158 under 👍

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

Daily Food Diary – Day 281 of 365

by annemariedemyen, posted in 2025, Health and Fitness

Today is Day 281 of my Daily Food Diary! 🥳

Monday (October 13th) is our Canadian Thanksgiving.  Being the overachievers that we are, we are celebrating today! (Ok, some of us work this weekend so this just works better for our family.)  🙄

Dan and I started the day off early this morning with a walk for Molly.  I stopped enroute at Dollarama for a few things  that I needed.  Dan has already been back there plus he has made a trip to Superstore because I forgot we would need asparagus and corn yesterday when he did the last minute shopping. 🤦

I have the lemon meringue and pumpkin pies made, the turkey is stuffed and cooking, the ham is cooked and sliced, and Dan is in the process of making cabbage rolls.

Not picture perfect – but made with love! (Which is the most important ingredient)

I still have lots of food prep and setting up to go, plus my aerobics and treadmill – so best get back to work! 😊

Daily Food Diary – Day 281

Breakfast:

(1) c coffee (2)

(1 3/4) c Cheerios (249)

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

Lunch:

(2) potato patties (240)

(1) tomato (22)

(3) slices back bacon (52)

Snacks:

(1) c hot lemon water

(1/2) c beef broth (16)

Supper:

(4 1/2) oz baked ham (163)

(1 1/2) c potato au gratin (300)

(3/4) c corn (105)

(1) tsp butter (34)

(1) side salad (253)

Total consumed calories: 1465

Total used calories: 302

(30) min walking (53)

(30) min aerobics (176)

(30) min light weights (73)

Total net calories: 1163

Net calories goal: 1229 – 1163 = 66 under 👍

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

Daily Food Diary – Day 278 of 365

by annemariedemyen, posted in 2025, Health and Fitness

This is Day 278 of my Daily Food Diary! 💗

Next Monday (October 13th) is our Canadian Thanksgiving.  Of all the major holidays that we celebrate, Thanksgiving is my favourite. There is none of the stress that comes with all the commercialization of  other holidays.  Thanksgiving is just that, a day to be grateful for what we have and an opportunity to share it with loved ones. 💞

Dan and I are hosting our Thanksgiving supper this Thursday.  It is the best day for those family members who work over the weekend.   And the leftovers they take home will make a handy meal for them, when they will be too busy to cook!

After joining Dan and Molly for a frigid walk this morning (as in our bird bath is now a miniature skating rink), I decided a pot of hearty beef stew was on the menu for tonight.   

Beef gnocchi stew. 😯

Just to note.. Jet Pack/WordPress is glitching out for me.  I find myself unable to like posts or comments.  Hopefully, you are getting my comments. And hopefully… The situation resolves itself soon.

Daily Food Diary – Day 278

Breakfast:

(1) c coffee (2)

(2) eggs (160)

(1) tsp butter (34)

(2) sl. Bacon (87)

(1) tomato (23)

(2) potato patties (240)

Snacks:

(1) pkg. Sesame snacks (150)

(48) oz water

(8) oz lemon water

Supper:

(1) bowl Knorr minestrone (66)

(5) soda crackers (63)

(1) cheese tortilla wrap (170)

(2) oz ham (89)

(2) oz marble cheese (227)

(2) green onions (16)

Total consumed calories: 1326

Total used calories: 59

(30) min treadmill (59)

Total net calories: 1267

Net calories goal: 1229 – 1267 = 38 over 👎

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

October 10th Update

by annemariedemyen, posted in 2023, Health and Fitness

I have a few things to cover on this week’s update.  None of them are particularly relative to the others, so I hope I don’t totally confuse anyone.

Yesterday was Thanksgiving in Canada.  We celebrated on Saturday with daughter Jen, her family, and a turkey supper including homemade apple and pumpkin pies.  It all turned out great.  The stuffing looked so good,  I helped myself to a big scoop before remembering it was made out of  yeast based bread.   I caught myself, put it back, and was giving thanks for the rest of the evening that I had.  It feels so good to feel good!

With no setbacks since mid July, I have gotten firmly back into the habit of working out six days a week.  I recently added a couple of calf and hamstring muscle stretches.  The one for the calf muscles is simply standing on my tiptoes and stretching as high as I can for as long as I can (with repetitions).  For the hamstring muscle stretch, I hold onto the front of my  desk and stretch out one leg at a time behind me as far as I can  (with repetitions). As promised, my balance has improved considerably, especially when I am wearing heels, and I am finding walking any distance is easier and faster.

This brings me to my third update!  For the third Sunday in a row, Dan and I took Molly out hiking.    This week we took her to the Wascana Trails, a few kilometers northwest of Regina.

You can’t really see it here but it was about twenty feet straight up on one side and twenty feet straight down on the other. 😮
Dan & Molly
The trails run alongside the banks of Wascana Creek.  It is gorgeous in the summertime.
I have no idea why the benches were built so high.   🫤
We took an alternate route back up to the parking lot.  This one looked a bit daunting.  Molly would probably have loved it.

Lots of dogs had their people out for a hike.  Molly got to meet a few of them, but her favourite was the sweetest little Bernese Mountain dog. 

And finally….  Dan has been cleaning up the yard and packing away the patio furniture for the winter.   He went  out for one of his last rounds of golf yesterday while I stayed home to power wash the patio and Molly’s pool.  There are so many benefits to being healthy and fit, but one of my favourites is being  able to do such chores around the house and yard.  A couple of years ago, I would have struggled to get the power washer  plugged in, hooked up, and the water hose unwound.  Yesterday, I got all set up, the cleaning done, and the machine put back together without breaking a sweat. Yay me!😊

From our home to yours, belated Happy Thanksgiving 💞🌞

November 25th – Neighbours

by annemariedemyen, posted in Wisdom - November 2021

Today our friends and family in the USA are celebrating their Thanksgiving. I decided this would be a good day to pay our respects by sharing some ‘words of wisdom’ on neighbours.

“Be at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbours, and let every new year find you a better man.” – Benjamin Franklin

“Being a good neighbour is an art which makes life richer.” – Gladys Taber

“Day after day, ordinary people become heroes through extraordinary and selfless actions to help their neighbours.” – Sylvia Mathews Burwell

“We make our friends; we make our enemies; but God makes our next-door neighbour.” – Gilbert (G.K) Chesterton

“If every man would help his neighbour, no man would be without help.” – Bruce Lee

“A good neighbour is a priceless treasure.” – Chinese Proverb

“Someone who loves his neighbour allows him to be as he is, how he was, and as he will be.” – Michel Quoist

“Geography has made us neighbours. History has made us friends. Economics has made us partners, and necessity has made us allies. Those whom God has so joined together, let no man put asunder.” – John F. Kennedy

Happy Thanksgiving to our neighbours to the south.

Take care! Have a great day making new memories with family and friends and cherishing the memories you carry from years gone by. 💞

October 12th – More Good News🤗

by annemariedemyen, posted in News & Views - October 2021

Because we are celebrating our Thanksgiving today, I thought what could be better than a good news Thanksgiving news story!

The story I found highlights the generosity of farmers from Portage la Prairie, Manitoba. These kind people offer a share of their potato crop to others every year, days before Thanksgiving. This year they have joined forces with a local Hutterite Colony for an even greater impact. Many of the recipients of their largesse come prepared to share with neighbours and friends who are not able to attend this event for themselves. 💞

These good people, who gladly and willingly share with others, deserve recognition. As we are kicking off this season of sharing and caring, I thought this was a great story to share today, to give them just a bit more of the recognition they deserve. I hope you enjoyed it. 💞

Take care and have a great day! 💞

“Giving is not just about making a donation. It is about making a difference.”

– Kathy Calvin