A Journey of Inkfulthinking

ETSY

2009-10-31T13:02:00.001-04:00

I have opened an ETSY store. Well it has been open for a while but I finally took the plunge and put stuff in it! LOL

2009-06-15T10:40:00.003-04:00

Well I made an interesting observation today. My dh gave me my B12 shot today instead of Fridays, and my Monday morning walk went much smoother! Usually I struggle through the video Or don't complete all 5 miles on Mondays. But today I did very well. I will be changing the shot days and see if this is a fluke thing or actually has merit...

I have also started just running big circles in my family room instead of jogging in place during the boost. It goes by faster for me and less stress on the Fibromyalgia muscle joints. I have been doing it for a couple of weeks now and I think in a few weeks I will try in place and knee lifts and kicks again and see if my stamina is any better...

With our Keys trip coming up here is a Ceviche Recipe. I don't think I have posted this one yet.

Ceviche
1 Cup diced fresh Grouper or snapper (just caught that day. NOT from the market, unless you know it is fresh.)
3 Tomatoes (small)
1/4 diced fresh cilantro
1 Tbsp vinegar
1/4th c of sweet onion
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 clove diced fresh garlic
bit of hot sauce (depending on how hot you want it)
3 fresh limes juiced
Salt and pepper to taste

Stir all ingredients together and refrigerate for approx 45 min. Until the fish is white and no longer opaque.serve with chips

Another recipe

2009-06-11T12:27:00.003-04:00

Always taste to be sure it tastes the way you like it! :)

Chicken Quesadillas
1 person can eat 1 to 2 of theseFlour tortilas (lg ones - so you can just fold them over - kind of like how taco bell does it)
Boneless chick -raw ( can be strips, tenderloins... what ever just not or coated) ( will need approx 3 strips/pieces, that will end up diced, per tortilla.)
1/4 to1/2 cup per tortila shredded cheddar cheese
1 Tbsp ground cumin ( can add more for stronger flavor)
1 tsp chili pepper
2TBSP of Fresh Cilantro
1 taco meat seasoning packet (doenst have to specifically for chicken)
a splash ( 1 shot glass) of Tequila for Marinade.

Add the Chicken, cumin, chili pepper, seasoning packet and Tequila together in a Gallon size zip lock bag. Marinate the chicken about 3 hours or so before cooking. Keep it in the refrigerator and flip it two or three times while Marinating.

Cook the chicken with all the marinate till the chicken is done. Next open your tortilas and spoon out chicken on half the tortila.

Add cheese over the top and fold over the Tortila.

Bake at 375 for about 15 min or until the cheese is melted.

Toppings or inside tortilla Options
Sweet onions and bell pepper sauted
quacamole
sourcream (light/ fat free)
diced tomatoes
lettuce
Cheddar Cheese (light / fat free)

Fresh Guacamole recipe
Chips
2 Avacodos
2 tomatoes (med)
1/4th c diced of sweet onion
1/4th c Fresh diced Cilantro
1 TbspOlive Oil
1 clove minced fresh garlic
Tad bit of hot sauce to taste
1 fresh lime juiced
Salt and pepper to taste
Mix all ingredients together, mashing in the avacodo.

Fresh Salsa
3 Tomatoes
1/4 diced fresh cilantro
1 Tbsp vinegar
2 Tbsp of sweet onion
2 Tbsp of bell pepper(color of bell pepper does not matter)
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 clove diced fresh garlic
bit of hot sauce (depending on how hot you want it)
1 fresh lime juiced
Salt and pepper to taste

Stir all ingredients together and serve with chips

The Epiphany

2009-06-09T11:54:00.002-04:00

Well the other day I was not feeling well and needed a b12 shot and, well, was having a pity party for 1. All these medical issues, meds needed, diets needed, exercise needed....It dawned on me, the positive side not the procrastinator person that can be lazy with little effort of me, decided to take a look at myself with a more positive view.

YES, I have medical issues, YES I can be, am high maintenance medically speaking, BUT maybe these issues in my life are to protect me from What I could be like if I wasn't living a heart healthy lifestyle??!! I could blame genetics all day long and win! I could just blame genetics and go on with life not fighting it. What if God allowed me to have these issues to save me from myself?? AND HE used me in spite of Genetics. That my fight to be healthy and live an active life with my family and friends is the result.

I know this, if I did not have these issues, I would not be taking care of myself. I know me and me loves Chocolate, fried foods, junk foods, BACON! Oh crispy bacon ! LOL and I am not a person of moderation sometimes. I know the person I have been and that person slept A LOT, ached daily, was on many more medications and was very unhappy with herself.

HA! MY medical issues very well could be what is saving me from myself! After thinking about it in the above manner and counting my blessings and realizing how much better I feel, look and think ( well okay, so that is still improving! circuits again) that I don't want to go back. So hopeful when I have a bad day I can remember this and that keep up what I have gained in prospective, health, and enthusiasm. LIFE IS SHORT! I wanna live it.

Time goes by so fast

2009-05-29T10:22:00.005-04:00

I know I am behind on this thing. I have photos, recipes and thoughts to share but am having a hard time getting the time! lol I plan on updating this after the weekend. Maybe in a few posts so the entries are not so long...... THEY wouldnt be so long if I didnt use so many words now would they. LOL

I have been walking and eatting, regularly for the most part and heart healthy too. I will get to that.

THis morning I was doing my walking video with Leslie Sansone and pulled a "groin" or whatever muscle that girls have, if they dont have groin muscles LOL in the 2nd mile of my walk! VERY MAD at my body again ( which reminds me I have not blogged about my epiphany!) OH SO MUCH BLOGGING TO DO SO LITTLE TIME!

Been a busy week to 10 Days

2009-05-13T09:51:00.002-04:00

This past week, DH and I celebrated 21 yrs of marriage!! We went to our fishing trailer in Pine Island and fished. :D Since our boat was still in the shop the boys let us borrow their little 16ft skiff. What a blast we had! We didn't catch many fish on line and hook but we netted 25 mullet and had a blast doing it! LOL it was low tide so I would "back" dh into the school of mullet , with the trolling motor, while he was ready with the cast net. Now I am directionally challenged and when I "backed " him into the Mullet, right was left and left was right!! and with the motor turned around forward was back and reverse was forward!! LOL!! LETS JUST SAY I SHOULD NEVER FLY A PLANE or make a career in the armed forces driving anything!! WE got tickled so many times! The visuals were just hilarious. At one point, the tide was so low we couldn't use the trolling motor so I had to put on my wadding boots ( so sexy in a bathing suit) and PUSH dh and the boat over a sand bar that was just under water. WE were redneckish for sure then!

The reason we didn't catch many fish is there was a family of Manatees in our fishing holeS! Lol Sweet critters but had scared all the fish away and would not leave "their " hole! We enjoyed watching them. At other times the dolphin would come by as they were hunting fish. Never got close to us but you can bet no fish were around after they past through! I did hook into a 100 pound Tarpon and he took me for a ride for a few minutes. He spooled all but about 30 ft of my line, off my reel before throwing the hook. BUT that was okay cause you cant eat Tarpon, I have caught 2 and do not prefer to catch anymore.

We came home Sunday, to a clean house and the boys were working on dinner. OH MY GOSH, did they take time and preparation! I was expecting something grilled maybe, a steak or fish, BUT no, they cooked me a Japanese style meal complete with fish and steak sauce that they made themselves!! I was speechless! It was an awesome meal! THEN LOL, we went to see the new Star Trek movie! LOL but it was entertaining!

We had dinner with my Aunts and Uncle. They love Mullet and provided for me so Dh and I cooked it for them and gave them some to take home.

The diet requirements have been going well. I have been exercising every week day with Leslie Sansone's 5 mile DVD. I am now able to coordinate my arms at half beat and my legs with the beat! YAY! LOL Some days my fibro gets in my way but I just take it down a notch when it is bothering me and bring it up a notch on the days I am feeling good. MY bones have better be getting stronger LOL! I know Leslie's videos are geared for weight loss but she needs to tell people that it is good for Cholesterol issues and bond strengthening. I am getting better and better at it.

Have a great day!

2009-05-04T09:32:00.006-04:00

Well for a Monday, I am off to a good start. I had my coffee and was able to wake up. I do wish that I woke up faster LOL.

I walked my 3 miles with Leslie Sansone and added the toning belt for the arms. I will be spearfishing before the end of the summer, with that thing. Love her attitude. She is so encouraging which allows me to worry less about keeping pace. Thanks to that I am keeping pace. I add some extra arm movements in when she doesn't because I figure the more twist at the waist the smaller the waist will become! :)

Still eating my Grits or Oatmeal in the mornings.

Yesterday I was at A Charming Place all day crafting and making ATCs. SO fun and creative juices were flowing.

Last night my dh made fish tacos. With light/ fat free sour cream and low fat cheddar cheese it was a healthy meal. We saute the fish with a tad bit of Olive oil or grape seed oil, some seasonings and then slice the fish for the tacos.

OH reminds me, Mango Salsa goes really well with fish, well actually, any white meat. I will post my recipe. It is healthy and yummy with your meal or as a dip with chips.
Mango Salsa
1 Mango
2 Tomatoes
1/4 diced fresh cilantro
1 Tbsp vinegar
2 Tbsp of sweet onion
2 Tbsp of bell pepper(color of bell pepper does not matter)
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 clove diced fresh garlic
bit of hot sauce (depending on how hot you want it)
1/2 of lemon or lime juice
salt and pepper to taste

Mix it all together. It is great over seafood or chicken or with Chips.

Have a great day!

WOOHOO!

2009-05-02T09:49:00.004-04:00

I did my 3 mile aerobic walk with Leslie Sansone this morning and IT IS SATURDAY! that is a big deal! I wanted to catch up since I have had migraine issues since Tuesday! SEEMS to be a recurring monthly issue! (rolling my eyes here!) I am very proud of myself because I stayed up with her, and I stayed in rhythm . I am starting to like this exercise which is because of Leslie's attitude. I actually considered doing the video Monday night and I had done the video Monday morning! LOL I didnt because something came up. BUT I THOUGHT ABOUT IT! lol

My son goes to Prom tonight. Cant wait to see him all dressed up.

I have a bridal shower to attend of one of my former youth students. It will be a mini reunion so I am very excited about seeing my girls that I have taught since 1st grade and they are now Juniors and Seniors in College.

I have been eating with healthy choices getting my extra calcium and Iron in my diet.

Here is the guacamole Recipe that has been asked for.

Guacamole recipe
Chips
2 Avocados
2 tomatoes (med)
1/4th c diced of sweet onion
1/4th c Fresh diced Cilantro
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 clove minced fresh garlic
Tad bit of hot sauce to taste
1 fresh lime juiced
Salt and pepper to taste
Mix all ingredients together, mashing in the avocado.

YALL have a great weekend

Lots of walking this weekend

2009-04-27T09:14:00.004-04:00

I got my walking in on Friday but it wasn't the video. I went to Universal studios and saw my Sister and her daughter. My niece was singing in her school choir. Then we went to Universal Studios and walked the whole park, riding rides that I had never ridden before. Universal is very different when you go with your niece and not your sons! LOL We had a lot of fun.

Saturday was a VERY early start to a day of fishing that ended rather quickly. I was up at 6:15! Not usual for me to go fishing that early but my oldest son and my hubby had tried to find crabs for 2 days to take me Permit fishing. In 2 evenings they caught 2 crabs. Well with all that work and investment, I knew I had better get up and appreciate their efforts. I was up, my bil and sil picked me up ( dh and son left at 5AM to try to find more crabs. He let me sleep. awwweeee! Love that man). We show up at the dock to meet hubby and off we go FISHIN! Well that was the plan....... On a full plane on the boat and the motor chugs and stops.??? starts up, ah just the new fuel filter, off we go, chug and stop??!! This time doesn't start back up...... We call our service guy, who just serviced the unit Friday afternoon, and he gives some suggestions.... Doesn't work..... We call our friends and they are headed out in their boat and agree to swing by and pull us back to dock. sad....

Meanwhile we are waiting for them, so some of us start to fish to help the time go by. My son zings his bait out and bam, FISH ON! I had already been fishing for 15 MIN with no bites! Unhooks the Mackerel and zings out another bait BAM! FISH ON! that boy is a fishing fiend. Our friends show up and tow us back to the dock. Our service guy is going to meet us at the dock to make sure he didn't do anything wrong.

While the guys talk motors I am walking around and this older Asian man is throwing a cast net. HE pulls in 6 mullet! I am thinking to myself "SCORE! for him" and he kicks them back in the water!! "HUH did I JUST SEE WHAT I THOUGHT I DID??? I COULDN'T HAVE. They must have been Lady fish." SO I watch him closely as he casts again. ANOTHER MULLET ( I am certain this time) and he kicks it back in the water, so I yell "sir, I would love to have the mullet you catch, if you are not keeping them, please. (always need to be polite when one is begging fish from someone Else's net! LOL )

HE says " U yike Mullet??!" I say "OH yes sir I DO!" He says " Mullet not good!" I say " Oh they taste good to me." He says "Okay, you have." So I proceed to his side of the dock, being careful to not get ran over by people launching or pulling the boats off the boat ramp. Well, just as I am half way, he has another mullet and says " It okay, I throw to you." Panic'd that he might miss and hit the water, I say " OH sir, I don't mind coming to get it. As I am saying that, the mullet goes flying in the air and lands on the ground. I am thinking "Oh good, it is on land" and I start over to the mullet. A BIG BIG bird also sees MY mullet and starts to make his way to the mullet. I yell" NNNNNNNOOOOO" and start running, excusing myself past all these boaters, who must think that this lady is out of her mind!" wlolws My SIL, Patty sees what is happening and she yells " I will get it for you! shoo bird!" and Patty rescues my Mullet. I take it to the dock and rinse it off and prep it for the boat. My secret Asian guy(hee hee his new name), is watching this all take place and says " OH, you know how to clean mullets!?" I say " yes sir! and what fish are you trying to catch?" He says " Spade fish" ( I have never eaten or heard of people eating spade fish?? so I ask him "Are they good to eat??" He quickly replies while throwing his cast net, "they better then Mullets!!" snort! To each his own.

He also catches a small blue crab, perfect size for Permit bait! I jump to it and secure the crab from the crab's back so he doesn't pinch me! My secret Asian man says " you careful!" I said " yes sir, I got him." he said too small to eat!" I said "yes but he is perfect size for bait!" and OFF my cute little Asian guy goes with his two Spade fish.....

I make it back to my dh and the boat, that is now on the trailer, and say "honey I have a crab". Hubby is very confused, "WHERE did you get a crab??" He had already put my mullet on ice and was still chuckling over me begging for fish from my little secret Asian man. LOL I said " the Asian man got it in his net and let me have it for Bait!" Well now the service guy and hubby are laughing and hubby says " ONLY my wife would be able to beg for a fish and a crab while boat motor problems are going on! I AM SO PROUD!" LOL

Well the "lower end" of the boat is DOA. IT is not our mechanics fault. Just one of those things. So he has the bottom of our boat motor that turns the propeller. We don't know how long the repair will take or what the problem is... hoping to hear from him soon and REALLY hope that it isn't costly!

My son goes fishing with our friends and does well. No Permit but he does bring home some Grouper and Snapper. :) While they are fishing, hubby and I and bil and sil go home, change clothes and go eat lunch. Then we walk Emerson Point and head to the grocery store to get some items for dinner that night. In the store we all realize that we are not feeling well.......... We all realize we got over heated and are now drinking water, feeling woozier and looking forward to getting home. Once we get home all 4 of us take a nap! LOL We felt much better after that and had a tastie fresh fish meal.

Sunday after Church we went to the beach before our friends were coming over for a fish dinner.

This morning I did my 3 mile aerobic walk with Leslie Sansone. I am not disliking it so much anymore. I am realizing it is also helping me with my rhythm and coordination!! Hubby "says isn't the physical exercise goodness!" I said " I am liking it and I really like Leslie's attitude and encouragement but I AM NOT TO GOODNESS YET! " LOL!

Okay this was really long. Sorry. Yall have a great day!

2009-04-22T09:33:00.002-04:00

Well yesterday I had bible study and never got to do my exercises. I am learning if I don't do them first thing in the morning, I have a harder time getting them done.

When I turned on the tv this morning, my show wasn't there! the Free on demand had changed their schedule!!! I found another one of Leslie Sansome's videos though. Her videos are great. She has 1 to 5 mile walking and toning videos. It was a 3 mile walk so brisk that I COULD NOT TALK while doing it !LOL I know that is hard to believe, me not talking, but I couldn't. It was a great workout. Leslie, I KEPT UP WITH YOU TOO!" I did! I didn't say it was pretty, LOL , but I did keep up. I even maintained rhythm on a new routine!! I don't think I fussed at her today!

Today is off to a good start!

What a weekend

2009-04-20T13:30:00.004-04:00

Well I started off my weekend on Friday night, with a date with dh since our boys had other plans. We went for bbq. Not exactly on the diet but not off the diet either. I was choosy in my order.

Saturday I had two girlfriends over and we stamped all day. I made a card set and have another card set ready to be put together and patina'd copper and brass with a vinegar/ ammonia solution.

The card sets will go in my Etsy store. The holders are not completed yet.

The patina'd metal will be embellishments for some nautical prints I am working on as well as other elements in different art work. In other words, I did a lot of them and don't have exact plans for them yet.

I love the palm trees and the flip flop( well it will be when I put it together) TO get the patina blues to punch I sprayed them with Future floor polish which furthered the chemical reaction on the copper. I love it when reactions occur like that! LOL

Sunday afternoon we took our dogs for a walk at a waterfront park, Emerson Point. We found out that our Corgi only swims with his front feet making his hind end unbalanced and swaying from side to side almost flipping him over! lol Our Bichon loved the swimming although seems tuckered out today. Then Sunday afternoon we helped dh's boys group with their fish fry. I tasted but was very good. They had fresh fried fish , gator, onion rings,hush puppies and brownies with homemade ice cream churning in the background!! YIKES! I had a couple of onion rings and a brownie bite but resisted a plate full and left as it was being served. Our boys were loaded with homework so dh and I were on our own again for dinner.

This morning I did 4 miles of my walk and tone program. I have decided that I am doing 4 miles daily now. I also realized that when I exercise, I have 2 thoughts, one is, that I am less likely to cheat on my diet because I just burned off calories, fat and cholesterol so why add to it OR 2, because I want something not on my diet and exercise lets me have it! :) If I don't exercise my resistance is down. LOL so I like my mental theories. While exercising I have all sorts of thoughts like , back straight, shoulders back, bum tucked in, rhythm Leah rhythm and WHY is she so happy! oh yeah this is recorded and I bet she did this in the afternoon not first thing in the morning.... LOL

Now off to finish my day.

I have a confession!

2009-04-16T08:25:00.003-04:00

Since I started this blog, I said I would post my diet and how things are going. WELL, yesterday dh brought me home a McDonald's Cheeseburger. AND I ATE EVERY BITE OF IT! I was very surprised to learn of the vitamin content of the burger! BY no means was it anywhere near my heart healthy diet but it did have 15g of Protein, 20% of daily Calcium needs, 15% of daily Iron needs, oh, and uhmmm 12g of fat. SO although I fell off the heart healthy wagon for lunch, it did meet needs of my iron and calcium. I am justifing LOL I havent had one since last September when I had one in honor of Mil birthday. That woman LOVED her happy meals! :D
I had left overs for dinner last night.

Tonight we are grilling fish and eatting greens.

I anticipate being able to start walking and toning again on Monday.

2009-04-15T11:52:00.002-04:00

Well I haven't posted in a couple of days because I have not been able to do much for the past few days. The edge of my son's fin fell perfectly on the blood vessel on the top of my foot and caused a hematoma and I think, some bone bruising. Walking has been very limited and I have had ice on it for the last few days. I have not been able to do my walking and toning this week. I have, However, been out in the garden on a limited basis and eating healthy. We are still eating fish from the weekend.

Monday nights dinner was a salad and a Grouper Reuben. The only thing bad on it was the Thousand Island dressing but I used it very sparingly. Rye/ pumpernickel bread was a whole grain and the Grouper was cooked in some olive and grape seed oil with spices.

last night I had Grouper fingers and snapper backbone. The backbone of a fish is like the Fillet Mignon of a cow. SO SO SO GOOD. They were cooked in grape seed oil. No tartar sauce or anything like that was served with the fish. We had guacamole and broccoli as a side.

Today I am cleaning out my art room. Reorganizing it and getting it ready for company on Sat. I have gathered some more things for ETSY and hope to start uploading to my store soon.

Have a great day.

What a weekend

2009-04-13T09:52:00.004-04:00

We had a departure from our typical Easter weekend. With everyone so busy over the last several weeks and Spring break falling before Easter weekend, we decided that it was time for some warm air and fishing. My dh's BIL and wife joined us.

It was quite a weekend! We limited out on Grouper and Snapper! Our biggest fishing haul of our fishing lives. LOL Only half was caught spearfishing. The other half was traditional hook and line fishing. My arms are still sore for reeling in those fish!! :) Now, that is a pain, I will deal with. My guys went scuba diving. The water was only 73 degrees! Too cold for my blood and my youngest son came up shivering from his first dive and said "yep, it is cold down there. I am done diving till the water gets a little warmer!" My dh and oldest son did dive 2 more times! Both were happy to be out of the water each time! duh it is 63 degrees at the bottom!

I ate great all weekend. SO proud of my self control. My only deviations were 2, 1" sq brownies and an egg with my grits for breakfast. There was 2 bags of chocolate there and the brownies were fresh and home made! The rest of the time it was fruit, green veggies and FRESH FRESH FISH! :)

Walking and toning this morning consists of less arm movements so that my arms can recooperate from all that fishing.

Dinner tonight will be , aaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhh, more fresh fish!! :)

A much better day!

2009-04-09T10:24:00.005-04:00

My Lettuce is in bloom.

Happy Birthday to my friend Christine.

It is sunny and beautiful here. Eating my grits now. My joints and muscles are much better today. YAY!

Today is an on track day. Not much to add..

I AM seeing a benefit to my calcium supplement! longer, stronger finger nails! LOL but boy does the ink show on/ in and around them now!!

Exercising was uneventful, which I suppose is a good thing! a regular day! LOL

I had a raccoon steal my green beans!!! so now I have to plant more to replace the holes! not funny but kinda is! I should have tomatoes in a couple of weeks. Today I am processing 2 gallons of basil in olive oil. I will use my food processor and cut it up extra fine and then boil olive oil. drop basil in turn off stove and pour up in containers. Cant wait to see how it turns out.

Have a great one

Cool Wednesday

2009-04-08T09:49:00.005-04:00

The above picture was my dinner last night. My friend Christine took the picture of the "White Chili" when I made it for her and friends in March. My dh and I had this for lunch, when we were on vacation in Gatlinburg, Tn. We loved it and were determined to figure out the ingredients so we could cook it for ourselves. We added a twist, in that it is healthy. We replaced any butter or oil with Olive or grape seed oil. Olive oil tastes just a tad better. In place of any chicken skin or dark meat, we use skinless chicken breast meat. You can dice the chicken up or buy ground chicken breast.
Here is our recipe
1 pound ground skinless chicken breast
1 bag of small navy beans ( or 3 cans )
1/2 Onion
2 cloves of fresh garlic
1/4Th to 1/3rd cup of Cumin
1/2 cup fresh Cilantro minced
1/4Th cup Olive oil
The juice of 1 lime.
Salt and pepper to taste

IF you are using dried navy beans soak them the over night the night before.
When you are ready to start the chili rinse the beans and add them to your pot. add enough water to allow about 2 in above the beans. Bring that to a light boil.
While the beans are heating up, brown your chicken in a skillet. When the chicken is cooked (turns white with no pinkish color showing), add it to the pot of beans. Now add all the other ingredients. Stir. Put a lid on the top and put heat at med low to low... just so it bubbles. If you need to add some water, you can . It will need about 2 hours to simmer. Taste it and possibly add more salt and cumin until the flavors are rich in cumin and you are happy with how it tastes.

While that is cooking and getting happy make salsa.
4 tomatoes diced
1/4 sweet onion
1/3rd cup diced cilantro
2 TBSP Olive Oil
1 TBSP vinegar
juice of half a lime.
dash of hot sauce
Mix all that together.

Dice up more Cilantro for garnish on top of chili and as an last minute flavoring before serving chili. Drop fresh cilantro in the pot just before serving.

Grab a bowl. Put a lg scoop of Salsa in the center of the bowl and then the chili around it. Sprinkle with cilantro. If you want you can add guacamole, sour cream and shredded cheese. (Reminder the cheese and sour cream add fat and calories ) I use fat free . ENJOY

I wanted to start off with something fun because this morning was not fun. We had a cold front come through and it flared up my fibromyalgia. So this morning my shoulders were still sore. I am doing my walking and toning routine but have to slow down on the arm part because they are sore and hurt. WELL that made me mad. LOL It is one thing to have to exercise and diet because of Cholesterol and Osteopenia..... But then to not be able to do them because my fibro is flared up, just didn't set right with me this morning. I got mad and cried while exercising cause, DOG GONE IT! it isn't supposed to be this hard and my body was working against me. I stuck it out and kept up, just minimized the arm movements. I was proud of myself for finishing. I love the way I feel from exercising, the clothes fitting a little looser is never a bad thing and my body, supposedly, ;) is better for it. BUT DANG! mornings like this make it hard to deal with. Now if exercising was more like cooking or crafting BOY WOULD I BE IN SHAPE! but alas, it is more like house work and I am JUST not very good at that either!! LOL MY dh loves me anyway! lol Give a girl a shout out if exercising doesn't come easy for you too. ;)

Have a good day

HA I can show this now

2009-04-07T09:39:00.006-04:00

This is what I made with the components of the latest Mystery Double Dog Dare challenge, from www.acharmingplace.com. I was the hostess and not elligible to win but it was fun to play with the stuff and make a card out cables, resistors, buttons, tag, ball chain, 2 wooden disks and one was originally red and mica. I used all sorts of ink, paint, alcohol and walnut ink along with my shimmery mists that I make. Everyone did a great job.

Wow what a cold morning

2009-04-07T08:37:00.004-04:00

Above are the most recent pictures of my garden. I took advantage of a cloudy breezy day and worked all day in the garden yesterday. Preparing 6 more containers and planting seeds and Seedlings. Oh I did have help too. My ds shoveled dirt for me in exchange for the fruit( mulberries, Loquats and blackberries) I am growing for him and getting his racket restrung. I have hot peppers and tomatoes along with a variety of herbs that will be ready to go in the ground soon. The hardest part of the day was toting 2 and a half gallons of boiling water to my garden area so I could sterilize the soil.

Sunday was a nice and sunny day. dh and I ended up at the beach for the afternoon. We did a few miles of beach walking. IT was nice being on the motorcycle, puttering around.

Sunday I ate a crab cake for lunch and then Salmon, sweet potato, green beans and watercress for dinner. All healthy or heart healthy foods. I do not put butter on my food and the other was cooked with a touch of olive oil, garlic and onions.

Prior to working in the garden yesterday I did my 2 mile walking workout. Dh was so cute, he had a question for me but I had started my workout so he "walked" with me while asking me the question. LOL I am a tad sore today so I may give my body a rest. Dh says that with all the lifting and raking I did I should let my muscles rest. SO I will just walk to keep my momentum going.

I ate cottage cheese and pineapple yesterday for brunch and then had wings for dinner. BUT my wings were fried in Grape seed oil and there was no butter in my wing sauce. As a side we had fresh cucumber and artichoke humus.

Today is going to be COLD! windy and cloudy. I am all done with this cold weather stuff! Florida is not meant to be cold.

I do have to admit with the added iron to my vitamins and regular B12 shots by dh and even the exercise I am feeling better, having more energy and more motivation. Just wished I liked to exercise!! LOL but its benefits are showing!

Having that 3 day migraine really threw off my crafting plans. Gotta get back in that art room and start concocting! :)

Have a great day. I got to get to cleaning house and everything I didn't do yesterday.

It has been quite the 72 hrs!

2009-04-04T08:29:00.004-04:00

I am alive and well! LOL I have been recovering from a 3 day hormonal caused migraine!! I have emerged from the depths of darkness, covers and ears ringing, for another month anyway! Being a woman JUST ROCKS ya know!! ha ha Although I have a variety of female issues, I would not trade this time in my life with any other past time. I am loving 40 something with my dh and sons and our life. It is an adventure and it rocks!

Anyway I am up drinking my first cup of coffee and ready (well after I drink my coffee) to attack the day. It just feels good to be vertical and able to look at the beautiful day outside. I have got to go see what shape my garden is in and make sure stupid pests and critters haven't eaten it.

On a sad note, our family cat, age 9, died in my lap Thursday afternoon. She was rescued off the highway at 4weeks of age. Some one threw her out of their car! She has cost us more than our 2 pure bred dogs! LOL She had FIV and has been sick and anemic for 6 weeks. We knew she didn't have much longer with us as of Tuesday because she was no longer eating like she should nor was she walking around. Just didn't have the strength. I am glad she was in my lap. My migraine meds allowed me to just lay there with her and pet her. My dh was very glad that it all took place in my lap. Now we have already started talking about her past antics which were bad behaviors that she would take out on me, I was her "chosen one" for bad behaviors but dh got the love from her! LOL, ie peeing in my laundry!! or the BEST, or maybe that should say WORST ever, one night she crawled into bed with Dh and I and peed RIGHT BETWEEN US WHILE WE WERE SLEEPING!!! we were woken up by this "wet feeling" eeeeeeewwwwwwww is right but now it is funny! Take care Callie. We loved ya!

Prior to my migraines I had some research on foods and iron, calcium and heart healthy foods. Here is what I found. 3.5oz of the following herbs/ spices has % of daily allowance of iron.
Thyme ground 688%, Cinnamon ground 210%, Oat & Wheat Bran 250%, Rosemary 167% . I am thinking of adding these herbs to my salads, because WOW!

Some nutritional websites
http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/nutinfo.html scroll down for nutritional values of fruits,veggies and seafood.
http://www.dole5aday.com/HTML/Kids/N...n%20Chart.html
http://www.fruitsandveggiesmorematters.org/?page_id=164
http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcom.../hg72_2002.pdf
THE MOTHER LOADhttp://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcom.../hg72_2002.pdf

I am learning that Fruits although high in vitamins and fiber, only contain 2 to 4% of our daily needs of Calcium and Iron.

12 Oysters or Clams have 30 to 45% of our daily Iron needs. I LOVE BOTH 6Large Scallops have 14% of our daily needs. Calcium ranges from 8 to 10% in those mollusks.

What I find weird is the more fat free the dairy product the higher in Calcium it is??? Vitamin D is proving difficult for me to get and not go against my heart healthy diet. Egg yolks and organ meats are higher in Vitamin D and I cant have those.

Grape seed oil has no cholesterol and has a lot of the Omega acids(good for you) 40 % of your vitamin E needs . It also is a natural anti-inflammatory (which is great for my fibromyalgia) and has a lot of antioxidants. It is excellent for your skin too. You can use it as massage oil too. I fry my food in it because it is cholesterol free and has so much that is good for me.

Okay this is a really cool web site. http://www.nutritiondata.com/foods-000998000000000000000.html The link takes you to the list of foods for "Optimum Health" and Basil is number 1!! it will break down any food, commercial labeled or fast food even, for you and show all of its nutritional values! very cool. This page lets you look for foods with specific vitamins and minerals. http://www.nutritiondata.com/tools/nutrient-search

Well this weekend I will get house stuff caught up with and then come Monday morning it is back to the walking and toning and grits routine. I am taking my aunt to our churches Passion of Christ play this afternoon. My dh is a soldier in the play and it is a 180 degrees of his personality. Not easy to watch him mistreat and beat our Saviour, Christ.

Have a great weekend and go find some adventure in your life!

Time in the garden

2009-03-31T11:29:00.003-04:00

I am sorry you can not comment on my blog. Help Group is helping me figure out why. If you have any suggestions you can email me. You cant post a comment but it will let you email me?? Or you can email me your comment LOL We'll get there! I am just not computer savvy and need step by step instructions to fix my problem.

Well today's overcast weather makes it a perfect day to do some more planting. I will plant some more herbs and okra.

I had my coffee this morning and did my exercises. Had my grits with too much pepper LOL

While doing my exercises, my way, I have come to the realization that if I were to take dance lessons ( I like Dancing with the Stars) it would probably take me more than 6 weeks to learn a dance or even part of it !! LOL Anyway, the instructor is so peppy and thinks that it is fun. I am exercising because I have to not because I am one of the people that loves the exercise. BUT it is necessary so might as well make the best of it! Time does go by fast and her favorite part is my favorite part! The cool down and for me the ending! :) I do feel better, look better and am happier so I can deny exercises benefits but I don't have to like it!

I am not sure what we are having tonight. Dh will be at church, ds #1 has a late class and ds #2 has a tennis game. HE WON yesterday! so happy for him. It is his first win. I wont get home till almost 7pm so whatever we eat will be quick. I might heat up a sweet potato.

In my desire to know more about calcium and Vitamin D I have learned that too much sodium and protein can deplete your calcium..!.. Now I am trying to find out how much of the sodium and proteins it takes to deplete the calcium, to make sure I don't over do it.

If I can keep this new stuff up for 6 weeks or so I will have a routine and a good for me habit! Dh seems to be enjoying the effects! :)

On a different note, I have started the voting phase of a challenge we are doing at acharmingplace and I am so impressed with the entries! It will be fun to watch the voting and determining and decision making processes.

I have a few more ideas for my store and have a doz or so items made for it. A few more and I am all set to open up.

Have a great Tuesday

a breezy Monday morning

2009-03-30T10:18:00.008-04:00

First off MY Steak, that I had Saturday night, was so very good!

We had a cool front come through yesterday and shower us with some much needed rain. The cool weather made for a very nice morning in the garden. I am fair skinned so I need to get my Vitamin D in the Off peak sun hours. My veggies jumped up from that rain and grew several inches.

I got my guys their breakfast. Had my coffee while watching Monk. Dh calls it my "murder lite" show. lol Promptly after the show I got dressed to exercise. I did 2 sets this morning. yay me. At the end of the first set I skip the cool down and then skip the warm up of set two and continue my aerobic walking. It is about 4 miles. I am not that coordinated so when she does the arms to the half beat and feet to the beat, I just get all Phoebish (Friends) and mess up so I do the arms to the beat along with my feet. It works for me and I think the instructor would be okay with it since she says "she doesn't care which foot I start with or which direction I go just as long as I am exercising. " Well today I tried the half beat! LOL I had the arms going and looked down to realize I was concentrating so much on my arms that my feet quit walking! hahahahahaha So I had to say to my feet "come on feet back to it!" and went back to doing things my way!

I ate my grits this morning. No butter (but that is okay cause I never have been a butter lover. I don't use butter unless it is in a cake or something. Now I use Smart Balance. I don't even like lots of dressings or Mayo! ) I also had a full glass of water. I am bad about drinking my water. I also had a cup of Mulberries fresh off the tree. They have lots of vitamins, some calcium and are on my "heart healthy" side of the diet.

Over the weekend, with the family get together I made some Bruschetta. I added a twist to make it healthier. Here is what i did.
I took Cuban bread and sliced it in half inch slices.

I sliced Roma tomatoes in about quarter thick slices. and placed them on top of the bread.

I took about a cup of whole fresh basil leaves and diced them up with some chives (both from my garden) and added a table spoon of Olive oil( full of Good for you fats and good cholesterol). I scooped that out, less than a tablespoon and put the herbs on the tomato.

Next I added Artichokes( not from my garden but I am growing them) . I steamed them earlier and used a spoon to clean each petal. Then I mashed them with a fork added a squeeze of lemon and salt and pepper and fresh garlic. You can use marinated canned Artichokes or even frozen ones. I put the artichoke mixture on top of the herbs.

Next layer is a quarter tsp of crushed black olives ( the Greek ones- better for you).

Finally, Ultra thin piece of Mozzarella cheese on top.

I threw them in the oven on 350 until the cheese was melted. Well because power went out at my parents house we cooked these in the grill.

I had fish on Sunday and successfully avoided the homemade milkshakes and desserts. I did have a few homemade french fries but they were cooked in Canola oil.

Tonight we are having Salmon. dh will be at the "Passion" Play at church all week so dinners will be quick.

Okay I gotta get cleaning house. I have ds's Tennis game to go to this afternoon so I better get busy. My dad also gave me 2 metal cabinets and a tall round shelve thingie so I have to get in the art room and do some rearraging. this stuff will come in very handy when I get my store on Etsy going, to store my items. I need to get creating too! My friend Christine and I got together frequently and web crafted before Christmas and now we are kinda out of our groove. My recent creations are for an ATC swap I am in.

A quiet morning

2009-03-28T10:05:00.007-04:00

My guys are out hunting and the house is to myself.

Okay so I have started this blogging. I hope I can keep it up. It will be a menagerie of health and diet, my latest stuff from Inkfulthinking Designs, my crafting, gardening and what ever floats my boat. I do NOT have all the setting components figured out. That part will be a work in progress. I have web site links I want to add, my store and what not... I am the most computer savvy in my household and that does not say much at all. :)

About me, has the beginnings of why I started this blog. The positive side of this whole thing is, since starting this diet I have lost around 35 lbs. I am much healthier, happier and don't have to take naps everyday. Now if the diet would help me procrastinate less I would be set. :) I try very hard to look at the positive aspects of the diet and not look at it as a penalty. It isn't really a diet for me but rather a "life change" for the better. I will confess that it took me 9 months to stop needing / craving chocolate. I have a little cheat system from my diet. I am allowed 4 slices of bacon and 1/2 a sweet roll so I just added up the calories, fat and sugars to determine that I could have 4 Hershey's kisses. It took me 6 weeks or so to get into the swing of my life change. My immediate family has joined me in healthy eating and they have enjoyed the changes in their bodies and the way they feel.

I am on the Berkley Heart Healthy diet, Cholesterol med, multi vitamins, grape seed extract, iron, calcium and other meds. I have an organic veggie garden and it has been beneficial in getting fresh Vitamin D from the sun, not to mention the fresh veggies.

Currently I am eating grits for breakfast. Grits contain 45% of daily iron needs. I don't like Cream of Wheat. I try to be true and consistent with my Cholesterol diet as well as increasing my iron, B12 or Bs and calcium. It is quite a juggle since some of the foods that have Calcium and Iron are not on my Cholesterol diet. Such as liver, but that is okay because I don't like liver! I exercise every weekday. I have a walking and toning video that I watch and follow. My doctor said that I needed to do "bone jarring" exercises such as walking to increase my bone density. It is nice to be able to do this in my own home because when I loose step or she changes the beat I can yell at the tv and no one gets hurt.

I am excited about this evenings meal. I get to have steak. WELL, I do need increased Iron. LOL I have been extra good this week in my eating habits to allow for this treat. I eat a lot of fresh fish and skinless chicken so every now and then a girl has to have red meat!

Okay that is enough of a start. I have learned a lot about foods and will try to post as I go. IF you know details that I would benefit from I would love to hear them.

Have a great Saturday.