I was challenged by my friend LeeAnn (at the gym). She came into the gym yesterday challenged to see what it felt like putting the treadmill on an incline of 15. Well it didn’t take long for her to see it was quite the workout. She walked 3 mph with an incline of 15 for 15 min. Then she went back to her regular workout.

So today I just wanted to see what it felt like. Just like Curious George, ya know? Love him, I truly do. Back to the point. So I set a personal goal to walk 1.7 mph with the incline set to 15 for 10 min. My heart rate after 10 min was up to 150. I’m intrigued with that so I’m going to go at it a little longer tomorrow.

The last 50 min of my workout was on the Fit Stride Total Body Trainer. That was a bit more of a challenge as I bumped up the difficulty on this machine today. The last 10 min on that machine I was talking to myself, saying, “I can do this”! And I did.

Another challenge of mine is to get my heart rate pumping at an average of 140 or so for an hour. I averaged just over 140 for the first time today. I can already see a change in my daily activity and I don’t feel as sluggish as I once felt. Good things are happening!

After my workout I had such a craving for eggs and an English muffin.

Two eggs in a tiny sauce pan. They were poked on purpose allowing the yolk to roam all over the place. Added a sprinkle of salt and pepper, more pepper than salt.

Ready to transfer from the pan to the muffin

The egg swallowed the muffin, but I took care of them both.

I spent some time reading and learning more about exercise this afternoon. I read cover to cover the latest Prevention magazine and found a recipe or two that I can’t wait to try.

Cheers to Challenge!

Sometimes finding balance can be a bit tricky. It’s something that requires tweaking from time to time but I believe it can be achieved.

A few weeks ago I was teetering between balance and obsession in my day to day workout. I believed I could just keep on going and I did to the point I was working out 2 hours a day, 5 days a week.

I continued up until last week when I had the lofty idea that I was going to push it up to 3 hours a day 5 days a week. What was I thinking? It was then that I stopped to edit my goals. The goal is to find something that’s reasonable and stick with it.

I may end up shaving the cardio back to 30 min and 30 min of weights 5 days a week, who knows? All I know is that a week from today I start weights with LeeAnn and she’s going to set me up on a weight lifting program.

I’m finding a routine where I can begin to feel the rhythm and focus on the things I want to achieve. It’s a great feeling knowing my husband is taken care of, I’m finding my way back to healthy living and exercise has made its way back into my life.

I thank hubby often for taking the best care of me, for providing encouragement each day and loving me no matter what.

There is beauty in balance.

I’ll leave you with these pretty flowers as I walked to the gym this morning

Looking up into that abundant blue sky

What a cheerful duet

Happy little bumble bee

What beautiful little blessings along the way

May your day be as cheerful as these flowers.

A number of things have changed in our life over the last 6 months or so and the blog has (for whatever reason) lost its voice.

It’s a new season, a new day and I’m ready to embrace the blog. I like to think of my blog as a happy spot for me to visit when I’m 80. And with that, I had better get busy filling in the days of my life.

I’ve embraced the changes in our life extremely well. I’m enjoying our new home in Southern California. But these changes have brought some not so nice changes to my figure.

To be painfully honest, I’ve gained some of the weight I lost and none to happy about it. But I’ve embraced it and have been dealing with the issue on a couple different fronts. Exercise and healthy eating (for the most part) make up the ways I’m dealing with it.

I did have a struggle or two to work through

I took this pic (last evening) of what’s left from the blister (on my heel) that I declared was the size of California. Or so it felt.

And this little piggy has had its fair share of problems. It’s a bit bruised and the entire tippy top was one ginormous blister. (Taken last evening)

Love my pj’s, they are so comfy.

I even found my favorite bandages in the process. The big guy in this pack was my go to for that huge blister on my heal. The bandage stayed on through the workout and proved to give “some” extra cushion.

For whatever reason the Waterproof Clear medium size bandage worked like a charm on the little toe. While other bandages were a joke, coming off midway through my workout. Not this little gem, he held a firm grip! At one point I had three blisters and two sores that I was tending. It’s just nice having fairly happy feet again after all that.

For the first few weeks the treadmill was my friend. But this week I’ve switched over to this guy

Meet The Fit Stride Total Body Trainer, we’re best buds every morning.

I like the way I feel and love the workout I’m getting

We spent an hour together today and I worked off 550 calories.

This little gym is part of the perks of where we live. Our apartment building is right next door to the clubhouse, pool and gym. That’s convenience at its best.

View from inside the gym

A shot as I stepped outside. View of the clubhouse and pool area just outside the gym.

Wish I had time to hit the hot tub today but I must play catch up tending to my chores before the weekend. Looking forward to that next week!

May your upcoming weekend be filled with blessings!

Today must have been the longest day for me ever! I had more blood work and urine testing last week due to the blood in my urine 3 weeks ago. The sample was sent to the hospital for testing and I was told the results would be in today. After looking at all the possibilities on-line the big “C” is what I feared as I didn’t seem to have symptoms of the other things listed. The weekend went really well but today after Bobby left I felt so alone and scared. It’s times like this when I don’t know how to pray that all I can really pray for is God’s perfect will to be done and just leave it in His hands.

Well, I finally received a call from my Dr’s office a few minutes ago saying everything was perfect – and no more blood! I have never been so scared and happy like this all in the course of a day ever! People, I truly could scream from the mountain tops and I thank my Heavenly Father for this good news today! Thank you Jesus!

Now all I need to do is bring the cholesterol down and I feel quite certain I’m going to be able to do just that. I’m asking for God’s help and also doing all I know I need to do as I believe God will help me if I help myself. I’m still on the same eating pattern eating at least 9 fruit and veggies – nuts – yogurt and consuming at least 21g of fiber and 50g of protein a day. I’m getting my protein through beans, nuts and the like and added soy to my diet as well. And as for my beverage, water is still my go to drink and have not had any diet soda in 2 weeks!

I knew exercise was a biggie and I just started my exercise program last week. Bobby got the wii fit for me last weekend and I’m putting it to good use. I’m exercising between 30 and 45 min a day and I’m thrilled that I have not skipped a day of exercise all week.

I’m so thankful for the warning and so happy the really big scare is over. Now I can concentrate on eating healthy and exercising. I have just over 2 months before my next cholesterol checkup and I hope to see a considerable change. I feel I’ve been given a new lease on life and I’m truly grateful and blessed.

I have never had a Health Wake Up Call like I had two weeks ago. I’m doing all I know to do and plunked the rest in God’s hands. Sure there are times I worry but doing all I know to do and praying God’s will be done, that’s really all I can do at this point. I have a brief check-up next week and then another check-up in a little over two months.

I have drastically changed my eating habits and cut back on the “bad” fat and cholesterol… My daily menu is loaded with fruit and vegetables and I’m packing in oats, yogurt, blueberries and walnuts daily.

My loaded baked potato last evening smothered with steamed broccoli, cauliflower and baby carrots with a huge side of green beans. I should say I like eating my veggies with LOTS of black pepper! No butter on this puppy but I did melt a splash of cheese over the top. This is a salad plate and the food really fills that baby and my tummy let me tell ya.

Yogurt – Contains beneficial bacteria that has been shown to boost the immune system. I’ve been checking this off each day.

Blueberries – Is my go-to fruit and I feel this is one of the best fruits for the body – say no more, I’m in daily.

Walnuts – Even though these critters are high in calories they have significantly higher amounts of omega 3 compared to other nuts and the protein from these rascals is amazing! So I consume ½ serving size of walnuts a day.

I guess you could say I’m pretty much eating vegetarian these days. I’ve completely cut the consumption of red meat but I’m trying to eat fish once or twice a week.

And for the “BIG” thing I gave up this week is my diet soda 100%. Water has become the leading beverage in my life as I feel this body of mine needs a real cleansing. I must say, the health scare has me on the straight and narrow and the lure to eat anything that looks unhealthy during this time is not enticing in the least.

Now, all that said, I do feel that there needs to be some sort of moderation (just keepin’ it real). I found myself really missing my daily cup of coffee and cream. So, I’ve added coffee and cream back in the breakfast slot and the oats has become lunch or dinner. I’m much happier this way and so happy to be on my way to a healthy new me.

The one thing that I’m not up for is taking meds the rest of my life and I’m fighting and praying so hard to keep it that way. And on that note, I’m adding something new this week, so stay tuned next Monday same time same place for an update.

First up for Monday is my health and what I’m doing to bring down my cholesterol. I’ve boosted the fiber, and have started eating at least 9 servings of fruits and vegetables a day. I’ve also cut off the consumption of coffee cold turkey the last couple days (yes coffee was my breakfast every day of the week and that’s it). It’s not the coffee so much as it was the Crème Brulèe Cream that I generously used. I had “BIG” plans to forgo the coffee earlier in the week but it was a very painful struggle so I didn’t kick the coffee ‘til the weekend. I’ve replaced my coffee with oatmeal and I’m really enjoying my little bowl of oats a lot more than I thought I would. I’ll be kicking another habit this week and I’ll write more on that next Monday.

My morning bowl of oatmeal with just a few walnuts, banana and blueberries

Next on the agenda is this pansy I started so long ago it seems.

I’m terribly sorry for the decline in drawing and my only excuse is that I can only concentrate on one thing at a time. I had high hopes of finishing the drawing last week but when hubby asked me to join him in Boston I couldn’t turn him down.

It looks like it’s going to be a good week to begin working on the pansy again and I have high hopes to have it shipped to New Delhi, India soon! I’m terribly sorry for the delay.

My final note is that I’m wishing all of you a very pleasant week!

I realize I’m not getting any younger and one thing that has had my attention this past year is my weight. Sure, I’m happy with me and hubby tells me he loves every single ounce of me but still. I’ve put on some weight with this past move and I know it’s not doing me any good whatsoever and I realize it causes other areas in my body to fall apart.

We have both started eating healthy and the weight is coming off (18 pounds for me and 17 for Bobby as of this morning) but more importantly I feel we’re getting healthier because of it. I had my physical and blood work last week and didn’t pass with flying colors either. I would have rather waited ‘til I was down another 20 pounds but felt I should get checked, so I did.

I got a call from the nurse today that my cholesterol was 249 and that I need to go back in three months for a check-up. And there is one more issue (blood in my urine) that they have asked me to come back in three weeks for another check.

I have really been kicked in the teeth today but I’m going to work as hard as I can to stay off meds and get healthy. This is a definite wake up call for me and its certainly got my full attention.

I had no intention of writing about my weight loss but I feel it’s nice to get it out as I could use your support to help me keep focused and to get this cholesterol in check. Perhaps I’ll make this my Monday post just to keep me in check. More on this later.

I haven’t really been able to put my finger on exactly why I have not been a happy chef until now. I believe the reason for this frustration was the very old set of pots and pans we both had from our single years. It all “boiled down” to the frustration of cooking and food sticking, burning or both and then some. Talk about “from the frying pan into the fire”, that’s what our meals were at times, BURNT, ok, so I’m exagerating a bit but just trying to get my point across.

Bobby always wanted to purchase a nice set of pans. We would look, then I would research, we would look again and I would research. Then the whole pot and pan issue would die off for a while and then we would start the whole cycle all over again. The decision was such a struggle that we kept stopping at the same fork in the road.

When we moved to NY, I really needed to make up my mind quick as I needed pots and pans and there was no more room for research or questions. I made my decision and went with the beautiful stainless steal set. I really like the quality of my set and I love that air pocket between the bottom layers of the pan that provides even heating and I like the lightness of them too. The cleanup is a snap and the glow from these pots is truly a site for sore eyes.

Cooking is no longer the dreaded chore that it once was and now I’m cooking my own lunches, no longer reaching for the Lean Cuisines every day. I’ll have to admit, it took me a while to embrace them as I had that old mentality of cooking, sticking, burning and so on. Now I’m wondering what took so long as I’ve taken to them like a fish to water enjoying this experience as much as I did when I was a kid.

What will tantalize our taste buds for dinner? Asian Chicken Stir-Fry served on a bed of jasmine rice cooked in chicken broth laced with the finest table setting and candles. Finally I took the fork and discovered the whole kitchen.

The latest news is that I’ve been staying in waiting for the gentleman to come over and pick up his furniture. He was to come either yesterday or today and with our conversation last evening, it looks like he may be here sometime today, depending on the weather. I’m also waiting on a call from the store where we purchased our furniture as it’s to be delivered tomorrow. They’re supposed to call sometime today and give me that 3 hour window for delivery so I’m hanging out here by the phone.

Other than that, I’m trying some new recipes and yesterday I was in the kitchen fixing up a couple different dishes for myself. I had a nice pot of soup on by mid morning and by the afternoon I was chopping dicing and whatnot making a nice vegetable snack. I made a cauliflower and carrot medley combined with extra special loving doses of Dijon mustard, honey, green onions, and fresh thyme. I’ve always been a lover of veggies and I’m constantly looking for great ways to mix it up. So it proved to be a great day in the kitchen for sure. Last evening I marinated chicken in a Mesquite mixture and fixed us a lovely salad loaded with all sorts of veggies. I found my favorite salad dressing which is the light Raspberry Vinaigrette with Extra Virgin Olive Oil, by the way, it’s so delish.

And the truth comes out… I’m so back on the healthy eating wagon full steam ahead with a small 7 pound loss so far this year. I’ve got a ways to go but I’m off to a good start. I won’t tell all the weight I gained having lived in a hotel for 3 months and eating out every single day, not to mention the holidays. But the excuses have run out and the scale went in the upwards direction and I went in the expanding outwards direction so it’s high time I “get a grip”, it’s time to move on.

I like using the fat free Italian Salad dressing instead of oil when cooking these. I just took this pic of the veggies I finished preparing for my lunch and will have plenty of leftovers. It looks so good and I’m beginning to smell them, can’t wait for them to come out of the oven. Can anyone tell I’m so excited about eating? My roasted vegetables are cooked with the skins on. It not only saves on time, but it also saves nutrients and I love the skins.

I have not gained any weight nor have I taken any additional weight off. We had the kids during their Spring breaks and I was not able to lose like I wanted too. This will be the 3rd detox I’ve done in my lifetime. I will go on a strictly clear liquid diet for one week. Coffee is completely OUT because I’m not allowed milk as milk is not a clear liquid that can be seen thru. After the end of this week of detox, I will continue to detox but gradually introduce fruit, vegetables and rice. I will then start to introduce fish, chicken and the foods I normally like to eat while I’m on the Weight Watchers plan.