The suburbs ... Land of contrasts

Only in the suburbs can you find lost tennis shoes and a Rolls Royce in the same neighborhood.   

February means Girl Scout cookies

It's February which means Girl Scout cookies. These thin mints our family's favorite. For years I have gotten a box or two for our children as Valentines to gifts. Plus one or two for the freezer.

Sadly, the boxes have gotten smaller and the price has gone up. But will always be customers.  It's the simple things... And tradition. 

Essential oils doTerra diffuser

So excited that my new diffuser arrived yesterday. Tried it last night with vetiver to have my husband sleep. Very relaxing smell.  

Losing Weight - Celebrate with visual aids

Since my exercising plan began in early November, I've lost 11.8 lbs. plus 2 inches in my waist and 2 inches in my hips.

My exercises of choice?

• 30 minutes of walking in the mornings [3-4x a week]
• 30 minutes of walking in the late afternoons [3-4x a week]
• 20 minutes of 13 weight machines in a FitLinxx circuit + 1 hour of water aerobics at the YMCA [2x a week]
• 1 hour of Tai Chi [1x a week]--just added last week

I eat everything just not as much of it and limit breads to one meal a day, sometimes two.   That's it.  I even have a small dessert in the evenings.

My doctor was right... just exercise longer, not harder and it is really showing!  I need a visual aid to celebrate, so here's a picture of what I've lost so far... the equivalent of a gallon of milk plus a 3-lb. hand weight! Imagine lugging that around all day every day!   Sigh.  I can't believe that I carried these around on my body [mainly my middle] for so long...

plus

The next step?  Just keep walking, just keep walking...  :)

Cold winter with harbingers of spring

Chilly morning walks this week with lots of contrast. Spring is just around the corner... At least for those of us in the South. 

Gen. 8:22 While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease.

Using your freezer-- fresh broccoli

I like to buy these large bags of broccoli florets from Sam's Club since we eat so much of it.  To keep it from spoiling, I partially cook it all at once and freeze in ziplock bags for later.  Then I can quickly grab a bag of broccoli from the freezer whenever I want it as a side dish or to add to a casserole.  Saves precious time later!  

One large bag of broccoli makes two 2-gallon zip lock bags full of frozen broccoli.

The next step?  When cooking today, cook a bit more and freeze for another meal.  When you will have a time crunch, there is something healthy ready to warm up in no time. 

Walk with Leslie Sansone - lose weight and get that high blood pressure down

You really can lose weight by walking...   My doctor had told me to exercise longer, not harder and I've been doing just that the last 3 months.  I thought I had stalled with a 10 lb. weight loss but measured myself today (thanks My Fitness Pal, for reminding me) and I have lost 2 inches in my waist and 2 inches in my hips.   I feel better already.

This morning I propped my laptop on my dresser and did a 15-minute interval workout with Leslie Sansone before heading to the YMCA for weights and water aerobics.  She's great.

HERE is a link to her 2-mile walk

HERE is one for her 15-minute interval workout.


I enjoy them both at different times when I can't get outside.

The next step?  Check out one or both of these links and see if you can incorporate them into your daily routine...literally, one step at a time.  :)

Time for new walking shoes

A few weeks ago I bought new running shoes from our favorite sports store, Track Shack.  I have had the Asics I'm wearing for almost 3 years of walking and it was time.  I kept them to putz around the house inside but how nice these new Ghost Brooks shoes are.  

Since I'm on an almost daily walking regimen, I wanted to be sure to have some new comfortable shoes this year.  A bit pricey, but hey, I'm worth it and it certainly helps to keep my feet and back from tiring out. Trying to do 4 miles each day 5x a week.  It's amazing that you can actually lose weight by walking!  My doctor was right:   Don't exercise harder, just exercise LONGER.

The next step?  Lace up your shoes and step out your front door.  Even it it's just around the block, get yourself moving.  :)

It is good to be small

Some days I wish I could snap my fingers and be sitting or walking barefoot here.  It's a bit cold in Florida this week, so not today, although we have many photos of walking on the beach all bundled up for cold weather.  

The sound of the ocean and the seeming endlessness of the sea reminds me of how constant and omnipresent God is to me every single day.  There is a calming effect about being so small in such a vast place.  It is good to be small.

What lies within us

This card holder sets on my windowsill so I read one of these each morning and throughout the day.  It is interesting how many sayings are paraphrased are from the Bible.  Guess these famous people must have read it after all.  :)

Thought for the day:  What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.--Ralph Waldo Emerson.

The Bible puts this in a different way:

1 Sam 16:7 ... for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”