Wednesday, July 31, 2019
MORE EXERCISE HIGH JINKS AND IT'S A BOOBY TRAP
Well thank goodness my regular water aerobics instructor is back, but I think he was getting tips from the substitute we had because he has really stepped things up. You can read about the substitute here in case you missed it.
I guess I wasn't satisfied with all of the exercise I was getting because I decided to add a regular aerobics class once a week. The nice thing about having a Silver Sneakers membership is that you can take classes at as many places that accept the program as you want.
I have started going to Decatur every Monday morning to the thrift store because Mondays are half off days. That means everything in the store is half off of their already reduced prices. More on that in another post.
There is an aerobics class practically next door so I decided to join up. The good thing about it is it is at the hospital so when after 30 minutes of nonstop aerobics the teacher gave us a break, and while other people were getting water, I was contemplating calling 911.
Who knew I was still in such pathetic shape after over two months of the water aerobics classes.
Never fear though, I am nothing if not a masochist and since I've never actually ever had any heart problems I hung out for the weight training session.
The best thing about the class's location is that when it is over I can pop across the street to the booby trap or as you probably know it Home Goods. What is it about that store that doesn't let you get out without buying something.
I think I may have spent close to an hour in there? How is that possible? For years, due to pitiful knees, I hated to shop. Now I am like a completely different person. It was cheaper being in pain.
I did find something I was looking for though. A wall hanging coat rack. As you can see it is bare wood so I am planning to paint it. It was only $19.99.
Maintenance said they will give me some of the trim paint that is in my apartment so once I get that I can get it painted and then get them to hang it.
Friday I am planning to take my youngest daughter to lunch and spend the afternoon with her. I haven't had much of a chance to really talk to her so I am looking forward to catching up. I'll take my other daughter another time. It will be nice to have alone time with each of them.
Busy, busy.
I guess I wasn't satisfied with all of the exercise I was getting because I decided to add a regular aerobics class once a week. The nice thing about having a Silver Sneakers membership is that you can take classes at as many places that accept the program as you want.
I have started going to Decatur every Monday morning to the thrift store because Mondays are half off days. That means everything in the store is half off of their already reduced prices. More on that in another post.
There is an aerobics class practically next door so I decided to join up. The good thing about it is it is at the hospital so when after 30 minutes of nonstop aerobics the teacher gave us a break, and while other people were getting water, I was contemplating calling 911.
Who knew I was still in such pathetic shape after over two months of the water aerobics classes.
Never fear though, I am nothing if not a masochist and since I've never actually ever had any heart problems I hung out for the weight training session.
The best thing about the class's location is that when it is over I can pop across the street to the booby trap or as you probably know it Home Goods. What is it about that store that doesn't let you get out without buying something.
I think I may have spent close to an hour in there? How is that possible? For years, due to pitiful knees, I hated to shop. Now I am like a completely different person. It was cheaper being in pain.
I did find something I was looking for though. A wall hanging coat rack. As you can see it is bare wood so I am planning to paint it. It was only $19.99.
Maintenance said they will give me some of the trim paint that is in my apartment so once I get that I can get it painted and then get them to hang it.
Friday I am planning to take my youngest daughter to lunch and spend the afternoon with her. I haven't had much of a chance to really talk to her so I am looking forward to catching up. I'll take my other daughter another time. It will be nice to have alone time with each of them.
Busy, busy.
Saturday, July 27, 2019
TIME SLIPS AWAY AND WHAT I AM READING
One thing I have noticed as I grow older is how easily time seems to slip away.
I remember when I was a child how time seemed endless. The summer days lasted forever. Days in school seemed to drag on and I was often glancing at the clock to see when I would be free.
When I entered adulthood time still seemed to be infinite. I thought college would go on forever, marriage would last until the end of time, and the sound of my children's laughter and squabbling would always be there.
None of that happened. Time moved forward, and as it moved forward its pace quickened.
Each year seemed to shorten. I remember several years ago my sister saying, in July, "well, tomorrow it will be Christmas".
We laughed about that, but I realize now how the time between Christmases has shortened.
These days I text her on Friday night and say, "Oh look it's the weekend again. What happened to the rest of the week?".
My days are full. I seem to have settled into a routine and the rhythm of that routine seems to comfort me.
Each morning I sip decaf tea or coffee from my favorite mug as the oatmeal bubbles on the stove.
I think about the day ahead and what my plans are.
Then I take time to read a little of a favorite book while I eat breakfast. This morning it is a new novel by one of my favorite authors, Linda Castillo.
Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays , and Saturdays I have planned morning activities so I am out of the house early. That seems to get me geared up for the rest of the day.
I split the rest of my time between tedious household chores, blogging, working on my vintage selling business, gardening, etc. The etc. definitely varies from day to day.
Of course I also try to see my family as much as possible, but I know they have busy lives.
So here it is the weekend again. The week has slipped by so quickly, but I love that I still have purpose, that I can look back at the past days and see what I have accomplished.
Time slips away, but life goes on.
Time by minutes slips
away, first the hour ,then the day.
Small the daily loss appears,
Yet soon it amounts to years.
- Ronald Tierney
I remember when I was a child how time seemed endless. The summer days lasted forever. Days in school seemed to drag on and I was often glancing at the clock to see when I would be free.
When I entered adulthood time still seemed to be infinite. I thought college would go on forever, marriage would last until the end of time, and the sound of my children's laughter and squabbling would always be there.
None of that happened. Time moved forward, and as it moved forward its pace quickened.
Each year seemed to shorten. I remember several years ago my sister saying, in July, "well, tomorrow it will be Christmas".
We laughed about that, but I realize now how the time between Christmases has shortened.
These days I text her on Friday night and say, "Oh look it's the weekend again. What happened to the rest of the week?".
My days are full. I seem to have settled into a routine and the rhythm of that routine seems to comfort me.
Each morning I sip decaf tea or coffee from my favorite mug as the oatmeal bubbles on the stove.
I think about the day ahead and what my plans are.
Then I take time to read a little of a favorite book while I eat breakfast. This morning it is a new novel by one of my favorite authors, Linda Castillo.
Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays , and Saturdays I have planned morning activities so I am out of the house early. That seems to get me geared up for the rest of the day.
I split the rest of my time between tedious household chores, blogging, working on my vintage selling business, gardening, etc. The etc. definitely varies from day to day.
So here it is the weekend again. The week has slipped by so quickly, but I love that I still have purpose, that I can look back at the past days and see what I have accomplished.
Time slips away, but life goes on.
Saturday, July 20, 2019
WATER AEROBICS BOOT CAMP
As you know, if you have been reading my blog, I have been taking water aerobics classes. I started out at one class a week, moved up to two classes and now I am going three times a week.
I really like it, and although I am not seeing much weight loss even with a low carb diet, I can tell that my clothes are starting to fit differently. I assume that maybe the fat is transforming into muscle.
Classes are fun. Well, they are usually fun, but Thursday was a wee bit different. Our regular Tuesday and Thursday instructor was away on vacation so we had a substitute teacher.
I'm sure you remember substitute teachers. They were the teachers that we ran all over. They either sat there doing nothing, while we made cootie catchers, or they tried to teach us things that we had no intention of listening to.
Our water aerobics substitute teacher was a different kettle of fish. She was young, fit, and I truly believe she was on leave from the army, where I feel quite certain she is a boot camp instructor.
She barked out orders as she walked around the pool, while the national anthem of North Korea was playing. (we normally rock out to music from the 60s) There was no slacking off because she would let you know if you were doing it right or not.
I pretty much kept up, but when she told us to jump up with both legs out in front of us and touch our toes I told the plebe closest to me that I preferred not to drown.
Things kind of went down hill from there as I started to crack jokes and say yes sarge, no sarge. Thank goodness the parade marching music "drowned" me out.
I did manage to almost finish the class and I was able to walk not crawl out of there with most of my dignity intact.
Well, today it's back to the Saturday instructor, who I used to think was pretty tough, but now I know is just a cupcake. I think I'll stop and get him some flowers on my way into class.
P.S. No, the photos have nothing to do with the content of the post, but if you thought I was going to post a photo of me in a bathing suit then someone has been drinking too much of the pool water.
I really like it, and although I am not seeing much weight loss even with a low carb diet, I can tell that my clothes are starting to fit differently. I assume that maybe the fat is transforming into muscle.
Classes are fun. Well, they are usually fun, but Thursday was a wee bit different. Our regular Tuesday and Thursday instructor was away on vacation so we had a substitute teacher.
I'm sure you remember substitute teachers. They were the teachers that we ran all over. They either sat there doing nothing, while we made cootie catchers, or they tried to teach us things that we had no intention of listening to.
Our water aerobics substitute teacher was a different kettle of fish. She was young, fit, and I truly believe she was on leave from the army, where I feel quite certain she is a boot camp instructor.
She barked out orders as she walked around the pool, while the national anthem of North Korea was playing. (we normally rock out to music from the 60s) There was no slacking off because she would let you know if you were doing it right or not.
I pretty much kept up, but when she told us to jump up with both legs out in front of us and touch our toes I told the plebe closest to me that I preferred not to drown.
Things kind of went down hill from there as I started to crack jokes and say yes sarge, no sarge. Thank goodness the parade marching music "drowned" me out.
I did manage to almost finish the class and I was able to walk not crawl out of there with most of my dignity intact.
Well, today it's back to the Saturday instructor, who I used to think was pretty tough, but now I know is just a cupcake. I think I'll stop and get him some flowers on my way into class.
Tuesday, July 16, 2019
WINDOW SHOPPING
Do you like to window shop? I do.
For a long time before I had my knee replacements I just wasn't able to wander around shops looking at all of the wonderful things.
Now I can spend forever browsing when I find a shop I love. A few days ago I found one of those places.
I had noticed a shop in my favorite shopping center called Westside Market. I wasn't sure exactly what it was so I decided to take a look and then another look, and another look, and.......oh my.
It is an amazing place of consignment spaces. It's very upscale. but there were a lot of things that I found to be reasonably priced.
I loved these handmade tapestry purses. They would be great for the fall and winter. I like that they are small and can be worn crossbody. Perfect for (window shopping) in the fall and winter.
I almost moved into that space, but I couldn't figure out a place to hide at closing.
There was some beautiful handmade jewelry and artwork. I saw several pairs of earrings that I loved, but I couldn't make up my mind. I think I'll go back this week and take another look.
One thing I have been looking for is a coat rack to hang in my front hallway. I don't have anywhere to hang coats since I turned my front closet into a pantry.
I love the one above, but it is too rustic for my space. I guess I'll just have to keep going back, and back, and back to see if they get one in.
For a long time before I had my knee replacements I just wasn't able to wander around shops looking at all of the wonderful things.
Now I can spend forever browsing when I find a shop I love. A few days ago I found one of those places.
I had noticed a shop in my favorite shopping center called Westside Market. I wasn't sure exactly what it was so I decided to take a look and then another look, and another look, and.......oh my.
It is an amazing place of consignment spaces. It's very upscale. but there were a lot of things that I found to be reasonably priced.
I loved these handmade tapestry purses. They would be great for the fall and winter. I like that they are small and can be worn crossbody. Perfect for (window shopping) in the fall and winter.
I almost moved into that space, but I couldn't figure out a place to hide at closing.
There was some beautiful handmade jewelry and artwork. I saw several pairs of earrings that I loved, but I couldn't make up my mind. I think I'll go back this week and take another look.
One thing I have been looking for is a coat rack to hang in my front hallway. I don't have anywhere to hang coats since I turned my front closet into a pantry.
I love the one above, but it is too rustic for my space. I guess I'll just have to keep going back, and back, and back to see if they get one in.
Friday, July 12, 2019
GLUTEN FREE BLUEBERRY MUFFIN RECIPE
Am I a strange person? (Don't answer that) For some reason I am not crazy about blueberries unless they are wild or are baked into something.
It may be that I was spoiled when I was a teenager and had fresh picked wild blueberries. Even the blueberries that I get at the farm market don't seem to measure up, but I know how healthy they are and that I need to include them in my diet.
Also, I am trying to limit my carbs and sugar intake so I've been looking for a recipe for gluten free muffins that doesn't have processed sugar.
When I was shopping at Aldi the other day I picked up a bag of stevia, which I thought I would use in some recipes.
The problem is that when I was researching it online I found some information that said if you have ragweed allergies then you will probably react to stevia. Well shoot, I guess the stevia plant and ragweed are kissin' cousins or something.
So I decided to look for a recipe that uses honey. I know I can consume that with no problems, and I'll probably try a little of the stevia in some tea to see if it gives me a headache.
I came across this recipe for Gluten Free Blueberry muffins and as I had all of the ingredients I decided to give it a try yesterday. All I can say is yum. It said it would make six muffins, but my muffin tin is on the small size so I got ten muffins out of it. (Okay, I know there are only eight there, but a girl has to eat)
I historically or maybe hysterically have balked at the price of almond flour, but I found a bag at Aldi and it really wasn't too expensive.
The great thing beside the fact that they are delicious is they are healthy and are made with just seven ingredients.
Thank you Veggie Balance for this delicious recipe. If you go over there just don't get lost looking at all the other recipes. If you do, call out my name because I'm going to be looking around there too. We can find our way out together and maybe we can snag a gluten free peanut butter cookie on the way out. SIGH!!!
It may be that I was spoiled when I was a teenager and had fresh picked wild blueberries. Even the blueberries that I get at the farm market don't seem to measure up, but I know how healthy they are and that I need to include them in my diet.
Also, I am trying to limit my carbs and sugar intake so I've been looking for a recipe for gluten free muffins that doesn't have processed sugar.
When I was shopping at Aldi the other day I picked up a bag of stevia, which I thought I would use in some recipes.
The problem is that when I was researching it online I found some information that said if you have ragweed allergies then you will probably react to stevia. Well shoot, I guess the stevia plant and ragweed are kissin' cousins or something.
So I decided to look for a recipe that uses honey. I know I can consume that with no problems, and I'll probably try a little of the stevia in some tea to see if it gives me a headache.
I came across this recipe for Gluten Free Blueberry muffins and as I had all of the ingredients I decided to give it a try yesterday. All I can say is yum. It said it would make six muffins, but my muffin tin is on the small size so I got ten muffins out of it. (Okay, I know there are only eight there, but a girl has to eat)
I historically or maybe hysterically have balked at the price of almond flour, but I found a bag at Aldi and it really wasn't too expensive.
The great thing beside the fact that they are delicious is they are healthy and are made with just seven ingredients.
Thank you Veggie Balance for this delicious recipe. If you go over there just don't get lost looking at all the other recipes. If you do, call out my name because I'm going to be looking around there too. We can find our way out together and maybe we can snag a gluten free peanut butter cookie on the way out. SIGH!!!
Ingredients:
Directions:
Enjoy!
- 2 cups blanched almond flour
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 cup honey or maple syrup
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1 cup blueberries
- 1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
- 2. Prepare muffin tin with muffin liners or grease.
- 3. Add all ingredients except the blueberries into a large bowl. Mix together until texture thickens and ingredients are combined.
- 4. Fold in blueberries.
- 5. Spoon batter evenly between muffin pan filling them almost full. (See Video)
- 6. Bake for 20-25 minutes.
Enjoy!
Tuesday, July 2, 2019
SNAPPING BEANS AND FAMILY
Last night my two daughters and my oldest granddaughter, Sidney, came over and had dinner with me.
Sidney brought me a housewarming gift. It's a sweet little philodendron. She knew just what I would like.
As I was planning to cook my eggplant tomato casserole I thought about how nice it would be to share it with them. For so many years I wasn't able to cook for them, but now that I am finally nearby I can have that family time I looked so forward to.
Since my son in law and grandson are camping out west, and Tessa is with her other grandparents while she goes to day camp, I thought it would be the perfect time for a girl's visit.
It was a simple dinner of casserole and fresh green beans with tomatoes and onions, and as I sat and snapped the green beans I thought back to sitting on the porch with my grandmother snapping beans and chatting.
My mom was in the kitchen baking a cake for the strawberry shortcake my father would later concoct, and I can still remember the cadence of my grandmother's southern drawl as a backdrop to the sound of the snapping beans.
My grandparents and parents are all gone now and the home I grew up in burned down several years ago, but the memories will always be there.
After dinner, last night, the four of us sat and talked about silly things we had done in the past. We were making new memories. Ones that I hope Sidney will carry with her. As we talked, I felt the past, the present, and the future all coming together in wonderful harmony. It's how life should be.
Sidney brought me a housewarming gift. It's a sweet little philodendron. She knew just what I would like.
As I was planning to cook my eggplant tomato casserole I thought about how nice it would be to share it with them. For so many years I wasn't able to cook for them, but now that I am finally nearby I can have that family time I looked so forward to.
Since my son in law and grandson are camping out west, and Tessa is with her other grandparents while she goes to day camp, I thought it would be the perfect time for a girl's visit.
It was a simple dinner of casserole and fresh green beans with tomatoes and onions, and as I sat and snapped the green beans I thought back to sitting on the porch with my grandmother snapping beans and chatting.
My mom was in the kitchen baking a cake for the strawberry shortcake my father would later concoct, and I can still remember the cadence of my grandmother's southern drawl as a backdrop to the sound of the snapping beans.
My grandparents and parents are all gone now and the home I grew up in burned down several years ago, but the memories will always be there.
After dinner, last night, the four of us sat and talked about silly things we had done in the past. We were making new memories. Ones that I hope Sidney will carry with her. As we talked, I felt the past, the present, and the future all coming together in wonderful harmony. It's how life should be.
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