I had a great weekend. We celebrated Tim’s birthday by going bowling with Landon, Jenn and the kids. Hailey and Timothy seemed to really enjoy it; it did take us 2 and 1/2 hours to play 2 games, though.
They were hilarious to watch — Hailey is very much like Landon — very competitive and determined to do it all by herself. And that’s what you want, folks — independence, though it can be hard on the ego and the heart-strings. Timothy, being only three, was simply interested in doing what everyone else was doing. It didn’t matter if the ball went in the gutter, he yelled “Yay, I did it!” He is such a joy — I love every minute with him. With all of them. Truly.
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Lately, I’ve been really feeling the need to get another dog. I see people out walking them and I wish I had one to walk, too. I love dogs. Love their loyalty, their unconditional love, their happy/sad eyes, their scruffly bellies and their wet noses. One of these days, when I’m not so damned consumed with other things, I’m gonna go get me a dog!
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I’m doing the brown-rice diet thing, again. Felt the need to get my diet under control. I’m trying to lose 20 pounds — hopefully before my trip to New York in July. So far, it’s not going well. I’ve managed to lose about 5 lbs, and there I’ve plateaued. To be utterly honest, I haven’t been very good about doing what I need to in order to lose that much weight.
I don’t exercise enough. I do walk nearly every morning and go to a yoga class once a week, but I should be doubling my efforts if I want to drop the weight. Oh, oh! here comes my old friend, Not Enough Time, to keep me from accomplishing that. I suppose, if I gave up everything else in my life, except work, I could find the time.
I eat too much crap. It is so unbelievably easy to slip into rotten eating habits. Even as I’m putting a donut in my mouth I’m saying ‘this is not going to help you lose 20 lbs, Kathy’, but still I go ahead and chow down.
And it’s not even that I crave stuff that’s bad for me, truthfully, most times I’d rather eat a piece of fruit. What it comes down to a lot of times is the social factor. You’re out with friends or co-workers and they’re having a Tim’s and a donut, so, in order to feel like you’re part of the group, you have one, too. It’s silly, really. Drinking mass-produced coffee and donuts doesn’t make you friends with anyone.
So, I’ve been eating brown rice, vegetables, fruit and numerous derivatives of, for two days now. I’m going for a week. Stepped on the scale this morning. Dropped 3 lbs already. I feel more energized, too.
The first time I did this diet, I thought I was going to die. The first go-round though involved completely cutting out salt and sugar. That was the most brutal thing — no salt. Now, after about half a dozen times, I actually enjoy it, and I add the odd pinch of salt or sugar to things to make them more palatable. Still, I consume no where near the amount of salt and sugar that I once did. (Unless I’m socializing, that is.) It’s like a purge, though, not nearly so hard or restrictive.
Hopefully, after a week of this diet, I’ll have dropped five pounds and be more committed to my long-term goal of losing 20. We’ll see.
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Okay, one more thing and then I gotta go.
This one is in the wack-a-do category. Got an email from someone on the weekend extolling the many virtues of honey and cinnamon. Of the 2 dozen or so health benefits of these 2 substances, one maintains that drinking honey and cinnamon twice a day can help you lose weight. So, I’m trying it.
Every morning, before I go for my walk I make a ‘tea’ of boiling water, an eighth tsp cinnamon, and 1 tsp honey. It actually tastes pretty good, and wakes me right up. Oddly enough, when I repeat this drink before going to bed (you’re supposed to) it helps calm me and put me right to sleep.
It can’t hurt right? And it’s better than spending a ton of money on appetite suppressants or metabolism boosters that just might kill you. I’ll let you know if it actually does help me lose weight.
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Okay, so that’s my rambling for today. Wishing everyone a wonderful, stress-free life.
All That Matters 