April 6, 2013

I am still juicing every day. It's the food part that went haywire. OMGosh... I think I gained about 20 lbs. Doctor will NOT be happy. Me neither...

I took my bicycle in for a tune-up 2 days ago, the tune-up is finished.  They attempted to re-do the installation of my rear rack and the dingdang bold head broke off.. Now they have to drill out that bolt without ruining the threads of the hole. It won't be the end of the world if it is screwed up, in fact, the guy at the store asked me if the bike was still under warranty, YES, and he said if they have to, they will replace the bike with one of comparable value.  Not sure how to react to that. I really love my bike and it seems a waste to return it because of a bolt. I have confidence that they can work it out... Don't worry about something until you know what it is you are worrying about.  Most of all (and I am talking to myself), don't act like an ass. Keep things in perspective... It is a bike, a leisure item, not my arm that is falling off or something serious.  It is a LITTLE bolt.. there are other ways to attach the rear rack, like using a C-clamp. 

My car radio stopped DEAD.. NO power, so I replaced 3 fuses so far, none of which solved the no power problem.  There may be another fuse at the rear of the radio, which you can't replace unless you take the dash off, pull out the radio and take a look-see.... In the meantime, I ordered another car stereo and it will be shipped soon... You never know how much you depend and rely on something until it is gone.  Try turning off your car sounds and see what it is like.  I even resorted to taking my iPad with me today, but that is not a good solution. The sound is not so great. So wear earphones? NO!!  I can't hear screeching brakes and honking horns if I am wearing earphones!  I think it might be illegal. teehee.. 

So this week is Transportation Week.  and Bumps in the Road Week.  My car looks beautiful with paint problems being repaired.. New paint!!  Honda paid for 75% of the painting on my 7 year old car!  The car runs like a top, no complaints. My health is good, house is good, life is good. My family is good.  My friends are good.  God is good.  I am at peace (today! haha), and I know when I simmer down and trust God, everything goes exactly the way it is supposed to and it will all work its way out.  Keep moving forward, don't fight against things, surrender the worry and no need to get all freaked out over stuff... God does a great job with my life, so I think I will allow Him to continue his work.

More later!

I am still here!!!

Today I went for a 13 mile bicycle ride, from my house to the park and back.  It was windy, ENE 13mph, so It was tough going. I just had to kick it down a gear so I could ride comfortably.  I want to have fun, not punish myself.

At home I made a wonderful JUICE!!  Carrot, cucumber, red beet, green apples, lime, and ginger root.  It was so delicious!!  I have been getting 5 lb bags of carrots at the grocery store and I switched from lemons to limes because lemons are 3 for $1.99, and limes are 8 for $1.00... It's a no brainer... 

I joined Curves, but I don't go there as often as I should.  Things come up and the timing is off, or whatever. My intention was to alternate days with Curves and bike riding. 

Last night I did an exercise thing on some channel on Netflix. It was a 30 min. routine and I think I made it to 15 mins.  Those girls are about 20 and they do this all the time. I am making excuses for not hanging tough and finishing the whole 30 mins. They didn't even look like they were sweating, they were smiling, and they were not out of breath..... I guess like anything, the more you do it the better you get at it.  I will try again this evening. 

That's it for now... Just wanted to catch up since I realized I hadn't been here since August, 2012, three months ago!!!

Other things are going on with a family member and a friend who both had surgeries within the past couple of days.  Nothing I can do to help, just offer encouragement and support, that's all.

More later!  

Tues Aug 14, 2012

I just had the best sandwich... Ezekiel 4:9 Sprouted Grain bread, toasted, spread with hummus I made this morning, and olive tapenade, then layered with roasted red peppers, artichoke hearts, cilantro and romaine lettuce.  TASTY!!

This morning I rode my bike to the park, took photos, stopped to look at the beginning of the National Waterskiing Championship that started today, and enjoyed the beautiful morning.  Just a couple of photos to view.

Feeling Much Better!

I regrouped and I have been juicing and eating mostly raw foods since Aug 2, so that is 11 days now.  I think I lost about 7 lbs, and I feel so much better.

This morning I was up at 7:00, out the door by 7:30 and rode my bike to the local park. The ride was a total of 14 miles!  I felt so good, just rolling along and I stopped here and there to take photos, also stopped to refill my water bottle, but the rest of the time, I was rolling....  What a fantastic way to start off the day!!

Before I retired, when on my way to work I would see people taking walks, and I would say to myself, "That's what I am going to do when I retire."  It took almost 3 years for that to happen.  I was busy sitting in my recliner, getting fatter and more miserable each day.  The sad part was, I didn't even realize these things were happening to me... I was oblivious to how I looked and felt.

Then, I got to the point that I was so sick of how I felt and what was happening to my body.  The high blood pressure, acid reflux, high cholesterol, dry skin, puffy face, etc.

On January 31, I saw, "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead" and the rest of the story is that I have lost about 35 lbs, improved my cholesterol and blood pressure, skin is softer, and I feel so much better.  PLUS, I am riding my bicycle 4-5 times per week.

I love just gliding through the air, zinging along, sometimes focusing on my breathing cadence, usually matching it to the music I was hearing through my iPhone earphones.  It has become a joy and a pleasure to get out there.  I get to say hello to the other people out there exercising, they are running, walking, riding bicycles, doing the heart trail, kayaking, water skiing.  That in itself, is encouraging and great to feel that I am a part of that.

More later!!

Sports Tracker

I have been using Sports Tracker app on my iPhone to record my workouts.  There is an option to get workout buddies.  So far, I have a buddies in Russia (he said they call it the Russian Switzerland), and near Como, Italy.  I love to check their workouts and make comments. The guy in Italy said he uses a translator to read and write our comments.  I have a lot of questions for them, but I am trying to go easy on them.  haha

Here is a workout from Aug 1 to give you an idea of the data it displays. It uses the iPhone GPS to get the information.  I love it!  I burned 640 kcal!!!

I had been feeling very CRAPPY, look at my face ^^^!  All puffy!  I realized I had been eating sugar, dairy, fats (Oh, that sounds like cheesecake!), so I had to put a stop to that.  I also noticed how my attitude was CRAPPY as well.  Kind of depressed!  My weight was staying the same, but that must have been luck or something.

I can see how important what I eat is to how I look and feel.

Two or three days ago I got SERIOUS and started juicing and eating at home, mostly raw foods.  In that time, my face changed :-) and I lost 2 or 3 pounds!  Why do I go off track?  These old eating habits creep in very insidiously, very sneaky, so I have to be on guard at all times.  If I want to change, I have to change!  "Nothing changes if nothing changes."  I guess I am an all or nothing kind of person.

My latest bike ride (yesterday) was 13.8 miles. I have been riding from my house to the park (4 miles), then around the park (5 miles) then back home (4 miles).  My average speed is improving, my strength and stamina are coming back.  I used to put my bike on my car rack and drive it to the park.  I thought, "What's another 8 miles?" I love the ride to the park and back because there are trees on the east side of the roadway beside the bike path, which offer shade as long as I go in the morning.  Also, the bike paths that are smooth, so I can gather up some speed and get some breathing going, no interruptions!  On the way back from the park, I ride through a small park, under rows of trees, which is great because the Florida sun is very HOT.  My bike ride is usually 1 hour, 15 mins. or so.  I think this is a good workout.

I have ridden my new bike about 225 miles by now and I have to say, I love this bike. It is like a well-oiled machine, very smooth and zings right along.  Look at previous posts to see photos of my bike.

If you go out to ride your bike or any other activity, remember to drink plenty of water. You can be dehydrated when you wake up in the morning.  I drink about 16-20 oz of water before I leave the house and I take three 20oz bottles of water and an ice pack with me in an insulated bag that I attach to my rear rack.  When I need a refill, I just stop and do it.  I don't like to stop for too long, only a min or two, because I am all charged up and it is hard to get back the momentum and energy.

Anyhow... Things are going great.

I am going to a wedding next month and picked out an outfit to wear.  Here is a photo, not so great, but you may get the idea.

I will be wearing some strappy shoes and some nice jewelry.  If I feel good about the outfit and I am comfortable and don't have to keep fussing over it, I will be okay.  The wedding is Sept 7, so I am excited because it is out of state, so will be my vacation for this year.  It is on the east coast by the ocean, but I already live in Paradise. It is somewhere I have never been before, so that is exciting and it will be a lot of fun.  The whole FamDamLy will be there!

More later.

Granola

Granola!!!!

I just made my second batch of granola.  

Preheat oven to 350F.

In a big bowl put:

1 cup rolled oats

handful of almonds

handful of pumpkin seeds

handful of sunflower seeds

maple syrup to taste

honey to taste

dried cranberries (added after baking)

Stir everything but dried cranberries, until blended, spread on a jellyroll pan lined with parchment paper.  Bake for 15 mins, then stir, bake for another 10-15 mins and stir again.  Do not overbake.  This is when I added the dried cranberries.  Remove granola mixture from pan with parchment paper and put on counter to cool.  Put into a quart mason jar and tightly seal.  Use within 2 weeks, OH SO YUMMY!!!