Mother's Day

The way I saw it today, there would hardly be a Mother's Day if there wasn't the product of a mother, and in this case, the product is me!  It was just the excuse I was looking for to devour some cake.  The other day, I had safely delivered a glorious cake to a very special mother in my life and all I could call my own was the drizzle of icing that had found its way to the box once I transferred it to a proper glass cake plate.  It called my name.  This evening, I made a special trip for my own Mother's Day cake.  I went to the Sobey's that boasted a completely renovated store and it lived up to its promise.  The first thing in my basket was a cupcake that was twice the size of any other normal cupcake.  Alas, I had found my cake.  On the top was  a smothering of orange-flavored icing, chosen only after I carefully reviewed all the other flavors lining the showcase.  After a few healthy snacks found their way to my cart, I beat it home for my celebratory confection.  An hour later, I can safely report that it was a big mistake.  It was less than fresh, but more importantly, it was just so sweet.  I really don't choose sweets the way I used to, but tonight, that cake called my name.  It went right to my head.  Funny, I do know the difference, but all sensibilities shot out the door and I was left with the nagging feeling that this wasn't the best thing I could have done for myself.  Well, there's little else I can do right now except pick myself up, dust myself off, and recognize that I really shouldn't be at such things.  I think I'll leave the celebrating to the ones that really deserve it--the mothers.  I'm sure mine will have a glorious day tomorrow, with or without cake.

New Clothes

Today, I found myself in a lovely new suit.  I couldn't have felt better about how I looked as I moved through my day.  This suit was solid grey and when I brought it home about a month ago, I waited patiently for the day I would put it on my back for the first time.  That time was today.  Amidst a very full workday, there was lunch with a friend at India Gate for their lunch buffet.  You can imagine my surprise (and maybe delight) when I put on that suit this morning only to discover that the pants were now too big.  The jacket was still fine but the pants really surprised me.  I wanted to wear that suit, so there was only one thing to do.  I popped in a movie in my craft room and set up the sewing machine.  I carefully took in the waist and then I realized I had to do the same with the legs.  It took only about twenty minutes and then I steamed those pants until they were unrecognizable as having been altered.  You can imagine my delight in my brand new suit.  It seems my waist size is still going down though my chest measurement remains the same.  You won't hear any complaints from me on that one.  I'm not even complaining about the wicked weather.  This evening, along with this morning, it was freezing cold as I walked.  I think I had a smile on my face the entire time.  I think I was alone this evening as I walked.  The rain beat down on me but I proudly kept one foot in front of the other.  It's because of all that effort that my suit was just a little too big for me today.  I think I'll keep my sewing machine permanently set up in that room.  I've got another new suit waiting for me in my favorite color of brown.  I suspect when I got to put that on, it will need a little gentle altering.  Luckily, I know how to take things apart and how to put them back together perfectly.  Gee, I guess I could say the same for my life.  Lucky me!

Nike

At first glance, the name of this post might suggest a conversation about new sneakers, but it isn't.  What I like about Nike is simply their logo, "Just Do It".  It's pretty simple, just do it.  It kinda reminds me about the good china and good crystal people sometimes have in their home that just sits there.  It usually takes a special event or some special occasion for the dishes to come out.  I remember a set of china of my own that I was saving for a special friend once I passed on.  I knew it was her colors of pink and green and I also knew that the likelihood of my ever using that china was quite slim.  In a flash, I woke up.  Why should she wait until I was dead to enjoy that china so last year, I packed up every piece and off to her home I went with those dishes.  She was thrilled and told me should would enjoy that china every day and would eventually eat the flowers off the plates.  That china gets used every day.  When you use something like that, it brings additional joy into your life.  It's much like my new sneakers that sat in the closet for at least six months.  I was so proud to have them.  I knew I would use them one day.  It's almost as if I felt I was doing something good for myself by just having them.  I was kidding myself, I had to use them.  I just had to do it.  I can offer one more example of just doing it and that was with the recipe book my friend gave me so many years ago.  I made the soup last night and tonight I enjoyed the first bowl after two hours walking in the glorious sunshine this evening with my shorts on for the first time this year.  It was nice putting that recipe to use, just like my sneakers which are practically worn out (luckily, I have two other pairs).  It was even nicer enjoying that soup.  If I was at my friend's house, for sure we would have enjoyed that soup in a nice china bowl.  I was happy enough to have it here knowing it was from my own hands.  As promised last night, here is the recipe...Beef Soup...
-small pack of lean ground beef
-2 onions, sliced thinly
-2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
-2 small zucchini, cubed (add last)
-2 stalks of celery, diced
-1 to 2 cups of thinly sliced cabbage
-2 carrots, cut into coins
-1 large can of black or kidney beans
-1 can tomato soup
-2-3 cans boiling water
-Vegeta (spice) to taste or 1 pkg. beef boullion
(if you can't find Vegeta, I've got plenty to share, just contact me)
-cook on stove for 30-40 mins

Enjoy!

Freedom

For the past hour, I watched a fascinating episode of Oprah talking about the freedom riders of fifty years ago.  It's hard to imagine that the world looked that way in what seems just a short time ago, but it did.  When you consider how the people were treated back then, it's easy to see how there was so much hatred in the world.  It made me reflect on my own childhood.  I was not free of similar torment and ridicule.  For reasons that may be obvious to some, there were difficult moments in my earlier years and into my adolescence.  Luckily, I had a grandmother that really demonstrated strength and courage and through her example, I learned to live without fear.  It offered a freedom.  As I watched that show this evening, I did something powerful for myself, a simple act that offered its own freedom.  A friend was here helping me chop the vegetables for the pot of soup that's on my stove.  There's two pots, in fact.  One will travel to my friend's home once it's cooked.  I realize it's a simple and perhaps unusual comparison--a pot of soup to a bus full of freedom riders, but for me, the connection is obvious.  Not too long ago, my stove was never turned on and my meal was from the hands of someone else and it was a less-than-healthy choice.  It only led to suffering and all kinds of it.  Today, my own hands go into my meals.  It offers me health, the promise of long life, and essentially, freedom.  I may not have written like this tonight had it not been for that Oprah episode that showed me that freedom can find itself in the bravery of those who rode that bus and it can find itself in the pot on my stove this evening.  I think I'll share that recipe for this soup with you tomorrow night. 

A Gift to Last

One of the most special gifts I ever received was a cookbook from a very close friend.  Its pages were very colorful and all the recipes were tried and true favorites.  There were recipes for delicious soups, some very nice things you could create with chicken, and of course, some very tempting desserts.  It seems that everything that was contained in that cookbook has a health consciousness to it.  Perhaps the most special thing about this book was that it was all hand written.  Every page was a different color of card stock and each sheet was hole punched with a very lovely ribbon holding all the pages together.  On the front was a very fascinating sheet of paper that seemed to magically draw all the colors together.  There was a message on the inside cover that wished me well on my healthy journey.  I received that gift about five years ago and I admit that I didn't recognize the value of that gift at the time.  For sure, I understood the intention and the love that went into her offering, but at the time, my food consumption was less than impressive.  At the time, my meal typically consisted of something with a heavy dose of fat, sugar, and salt.  This recipe book contains none of that.  It contains all the good recipes that she has gathered over the years and she has passed them onto me.  Now, I find myself curious about what I can make from that cookbook.  In some way, that cookbook has the same meaning of my coming here to write on a daily basis.  The entries that I share are much like the recipes of my own life.  These are things that are working for me.  They may work for someone else as well.  All you have to do is keep turning the page.  If you find something you like, tear it out and keep it for yourself.  I'm still learning and I'm still sharing.  Thank you, again, Miriam, for that very special gift.  Your friendship means so much to me.

The Home Stretch

May 24th will be a day of celebration for me.  It will be exactly one year since I started looking after myself.  The result is still the same--72 pounds gone.  Today, I thought about what I'd like to accomplish within the next three weeks.  I asked myself, would I like to lose a little more weight?  Of course, the answer is yes.  How will I celebrate that night?  While I don't have the answer to that, I just know I will, and I also know the celebration won't be around food.  Sure, there will likely be food present, but it won't be the focus of the event.  If I was just holding my breath so I could pig out that night, the entire spirit of the event would be lost.  When I hit that day, things will still be the same for me.  I will get up in the morning and walk and hopefully, my hands won't turn blue as I'm doing it.  It's been so cold lately.  I think for the next three weeks, I want to focus more on my own cooking.  Admittedly, I have eaten out quite a bit, so it's no coincidence that my weight hasn't changed.  It's time for that to now change.  I was considering taking myself out to dinner this evening but I thought better of it.  I stayed home to soup and, well, that's all I had now that I think about it.  Maybe that's why my stomach is growling at me right now.  Perhaps it's time for a little toast and tea.  I don't need much more than that.  I'll enjoy my cup of tea and think about what the next three weeks will hold for me.  I'll now plan a trip to the supermarket and resume some of my own cooking.  That's a great place to start.

The Power of Thought

I've always believed in the power of my thoughts.  For example, when I started walking last year, I thought back to a time when I wasn't so overweight.  I really imagined that I was still in that body.  I remembered what it felt like.  I remembered the clothes I used to wear.  As I walked, I really believed that body was still mine and what I also believed was that my body would like up quicker with that thought.  I believed that just as important as the exercise and food choices was my mind's belief that I was in a smaller body.  While I can't say for certain that did it, what I know for sure is that the smaller body I imagined came to me a lot quicker than I could have imagined. That got me thinking about my thoughts as they related to food.   It seems that for the first six months, I used to feel so guilty if I ate anything that didn't seem to fit with my weight-loss goals.  Now, I believe that guilt was a thought that turned that food, whatever it was, into extra fat on my body.  I had to walk further and harder just to rid myself of that.   Now, I think about that differently.  There's no more guilt.  That guilt, I believe, is a thought that instantly turns that food to fat on my body.  So, I now choose a different thought, even with the very same food.  There is no longer any guilt.  As a matter of fact, as I'm writing this, I am enjoying a cup full of ice cream--a guilt-free cup as well.  The way I see it, I can look at that ice cream as something I just want to have as a little treat after dinner.  If I looked at that ice cream with guilt, that thought would make that ice cream wrong, and me for wanting it.  When I tell myself I can have whatever I want when I'm hungry, that thought becomes freeing.  The result I notice is that this ice cream no longer has the power over me.  The other result is that I don't actually reach for ice cream as much.  I really don't remember the last time I had it.  A guilt-free thought about this treat is liberating.  Well, I seem to have just finished my little treat.  Delicious!