Miss Me???

Nah! Didn't think so.

I have been goofing off, blogging wise, but working on the rest of my plan. I've also been nosing around the other blogs, but haven't commented much, cuz I've been using my new fangled phone, and I can't figure out exactly how to leave comments on blogs while using the darned thing!! I know, and I admit that I am techno challenged. I've learned to accept that shortcoming.

I am happy to report that The Perfect Child is doing her best to secure my victory in the "Dumbest Thing I've Ever Done Challenge". She took my competitor out to dinner last night, fed him junk, and insisted he consume beer!! Yay, Kris!!!!!! AND, since I had not heard this week from my fellow competitor, I assumed I was in the lead...I was right, I am!! He finally reported in this afternoon, and his results were not what he'd hoped for, I'm sure, but I'm delighted. :) He gained .09% this week, and I lost .19%. Now, normally that wouldn't be a very exciting loss, but at least I'm hanging in there. A win is a win, right?? What is it they say about age and treachery?? I certainly have the age part covered.

I have also heard from the competition that he's begun to follow my blog, so now I must tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. (Shaded slightly in my favor, of course.) I have to admit that my exercise this week has been less than exemplary. I am two months away from being able to get my next cortisone shot, and my knee is complaining loudly!! It's all I can do to get around the golf course, so lots more than that simply is not getting done. I do get a few weights in now and then. Jason, on the other hand, is hiking up and down mountains like a mad man. Luckily, The Perfect Child is insisting on beers and "squeeze cheese" for dinner. I've been assured that even tho' this week offered up a gain, he's still on board with the challenge, so off we go to week three. I keep reminding myself of the tortoise and the hare.

This is the tortoise signing off. Happy Memorial Day Weekend to all !!!

Week One Is In The Books!

While it hasn't been a full week since the "Dumbest Thing I've Ever Done" Challenge began, my competition weighed in yesterday and reported a loss of 2.24%!! Thankfully, his weigh in took place before he did a mountain hike of 4 miles in the 96º heat!! I dodged a bullet there, I'm quite certain. My loss, while delighting me, was more modest. I had a 1.18% loss, which at this juncture, I'm very happy about. It erases the evils that beset me a week or two ago. So, while I did fall below the yellow line, (reference "The Biggest Loser") I was not eliminated!! We are still hard at it. I am also buoyed by the knowledge that my beloved competitor has indulged in a QuickTrip hot dog with all that wonderful squeeze cheese and drippy chili, so I'm feeling ever so much better about that, too. He hasn't entirely given up the soda pop, either. The Perfect Child has volunteered to sabotage his efforts, so I may eventually have to take her up on that offer, but as of now, I'm gonna play it straight. That might not last long, but at least I'm going to try. :) I am certainly not above taking help when it is needed. :)

I have to admit that my efforts are a bit more focused these days. For absolutely no other reason than that I am able to play golf on a much more regular basis. That just lifts my spirits enormously, and makes me much perkier....disgustingly so, some would say. I have to admit that I was tired of just doing the same old stuff day after day. Even my outdoor walks, which I enjoy were getting boring.

I have received confirmation that my "Almost, But Not Quite, World Famous Rhubarb Ketchup" is, indeed wonderful with turkey burgers! The Primary Child emailed me with that bit of news the other day. Being the wonderful parent I am, I resisted the urge to say "I told you so", and accepted the compliment with humility and gratitude, neither of which come naturally to me. I received the same plaudits for the rhubarb-chipotle BBQ sauce, too, so I am really on a rhubarb roll!! CSA deliveries start next Friday, so I am excited about that. I can't wait to see what's gonna show up. There was a limited delivery (not to our site) 2 weeks ago and they got asparagus, onions and garlic scapes. I'm hoping with an extra week in between, we'll be getting lots of goodies. I always look forward to the email telling us what we're going to get so I can begin gathering my recipes. It is just so nice to have fresh, organic, locally grown produce. I miss that in the winter months.

Onward and Downward in Week 2!! Be sure and have another hot dog, Jason....I'm buying!!

Confuscious Say...

"Never enter into Biggest Loser contest with man who is just beginning his diet". Contrary to good sense, I have done just that. A family friend, 37 yrs. old, and I have embarked on a Biggest Loser type contest. He wants to lose weight before his vacation in Aug., and I am just continuing what I've already started. This ain't gonna be fair, I already know that!

First, as we all know the deck is stacked against me just for being a female. Second, I've been working on this a while so my initial big loss is behind me, he is just beginning. Third, he has just discovered FIBER, so his first week will probably be a very nice, big loss. I'll be happy getting my 1#. (There goes my "touchy-feely" diet, I'm gonna have to file reports.) I'm not even going to think about the age difference and activity levels. UGH!

As an aside, this guy is a young, athletic guy with an active, outdoor job. He's on the go most of the time. However, he has never met a QuickTrip hotdog smothered in that pump cheese and liquid chili he didn't love!! Junk food in quantity is his best friend. The Perfect Child, our daughter, is back into fitness and healthy eating, so her friend has decided he needs to begin a healthy eating program, too. Even tho' he's not a healthy eater, he is so active in his job that he can get away with the diet he has been enjoying. He is also a devoted Dr. Pepper drinker. Upwards of 2 liters a day!! He's cutting back on that, I've been told.

The cute thing is, that yesterday he called to tell me about his FIRST day of eating well. Like a little kid that just won the spelling bee, he was delighted with himself. I oohed and ahhhed appropriately, then listened as he told me a Buffalo Wild Wings was going in very close to where he lives!! Excitement was clearly in his voice. However, since he is one day into his devotion to good health, he has determined he is going to ride his, as of right now, nonexistent, bicycle to and from his wild wing, beer drinking evening. He's also going to try to get The Perfect Child to fall of her wallet to buy a bike as well. Heck, she can't even commit to a living room set she likes after being in her house for a couple of years, it'll take forever for her to chose a bike. (This comment will get a rise out of her....I should be hearing from her soon.)

Ya know, come tho think of it, if we stay at this contest long enough I just might be the tortoise to his hare, and do okay. :) Fingers crossed.

Weekend Recap

For starters, I had a really wonderful weekend! On Sunday, I was pleasantly surprised by HD with an invitation to breakfast. Not all that unusual, but we were going to a place much further away than usual. We arrived, waited for a table for 2 to clear, and HD said we needed a table for 6. I thought our golfing compatriots would be joining us. We ordered coffee and waited. Well, imagine my delight and surprise when our son, daughter-in-law, and the two grand kids walked through the door!! The best Mothers' Day gift by far. They traveled 2 hrs. to treat me to breakfast, then came to the house for a few minutes and headed back home. They left early so I could join our golfing friends for our Sunday afternoon round of golf. What a wonderfully thoughtful and gracious thing to do!!! I enjoyed my day even more because of this fabulous beginning. Happy Mothers' Day to me.

Saturday was Farmers' Market day. It was cool, windy, and overcast, be we got up early and got moving. We made a quick run to the stands I was most interested in, and made a record haul. I got everything in the shortest time ever!! My leg was giving me problems, so I was happy to find a primo parking space close to where I wanted to shop. Upon my return, I chopped my rhubarb and got ready to make my "Not yet world famous" rhubarb ketchup. I got side tracked, and found a recipe (a friend suggested it) for chipotle-rhubarb BBQ sauce. I made a batch of that instead. It was wonderful!!! And, better yet, only 40 cal. for 1/4 c. I need some small freezer containers to do the rhubarb ketchup, so that's on tap for later today. Naturally, I had asparagus to take care of too, so that's all cleaned and ready to go as well. While I was picking out asparagus and rhubarb, HD went to the stand next door and got a cup of coffee for each of us. I allow myself a few cups of coffee on the weekend, so it was a real treat to have some "gourmet" fresh roasted coffee to warm me up.

While my weekend was wonderful, it might not have been full of my best food choices. I wasn't terrible, but I know I was indulgent on more than one occasion. A half order of biscuits and gravy for Mothers' Day was one example, but I was confident I'd work some of it off whacking around the golf ball that afternoon. Believe me, I worked hard on the golf course, and swung the club many more times than I would have liked. I'm looking at that as excess exercise to make myself feel better. :)

After uncovering my tomatoes and peppers on Sunday morning (we had freeze warnings out) I found that they looked none the worse for wear. My basil looks forlorn, but all things considered, I think I came out ok. I even saw one little blossom on my cherry tomato plant, so that gives me great hope. I may beat the neighbors to a BLT yet!

Good Times 'a Comin'

Yep, I'm anticipating a great day today leading into a great weekend. "Why?", you might ask. Well, I'm going to tell you! Today our new bed is being delivered!! I am extremely hopeful that this will alleviate some of my back issues. Our old mattress is embarrassingly old, and I've been begging for a new one for a few years now. We'd kinda forgot about it after we moved, until just recently when my sciatic nerve problems began. Voilà! We got a new mattress. The one and only good thing coming from my sciatica. :)

Second, tomorrow is the Farmers' Market. It is week two for the market. Last week I went with two friends, one of whom doesn't like early wake up calls, so we missed the fresh asparagus and rhubarb!! Oh woe was me. This week, HD and I are off early to be able to partake in all of the fresh goodies that went so rapidly last week. Asparagus is #1 on the list, followed closely by the ruby red rhubarb, from which I will make my "Not yet world famous" rhubarb ketchup. This ketchup is wonderful, but it particularly good with a turkey burger. Yummy. I'm down to my last container from last year, so it's time to get busy and put together another pot full. Needless to say, the tender, young asparagus has my mouth watering just thinking about it. I was told that last week, amounts per person were limited, so I hope that is not the case this week. I did get some spring onions, and there was bok choi available, as well. Since I was so bummed out about missing the asparagus and rhubarb, I just settled for some spring onions and we all went home. Tomorrow is going to be a completely different experience, I am certain of it. I'm taking my largest shopping bag along to be sure I don't run out of room.

In my zeal to beat all the neighbors in harvesting tomatoes, it would appear that I'll be covering them up the next few nights. I guess they say May 15 for planting them for a reason. :( Luckily, the plants are not all that pricey, so if I lose one (I only have 4) it won't be the end of the world, but I will have lost my competitive edge. My radishes and lettuce are up and looking perky as the dickens. They'll get covered too, as they are in the top part of the upside down tomato "thingy". My herbs are looking great, so guess I'll cover them as well. Replanting everything has no appeal whatsoever.

So there you have it! My wonderful weekend begins today between 11-1 when the bed is delivered. Then I'm off and running, ready to enjoy a terrific weekend. Hope you all are ready for a great weekend, too.

Product Review

Before I get into the product review, I wanted to check in and thank everyone for the kind comments on my last post. I honestly was not "fishing" for compliments. I was only thinking out loud about posts and followers. Having never worried about either, I was surprised that so many folks are concerned about those things. Thank you all for your comments and compliments. Even tho' it wasn't a fishing expedition on my part, I feel like I landed the "big one". Thanks again, you are all too kind.

Now, on to the product review. A few weeks ago I received a 4-pack from CherryPharm asking me to review their new sweet and tart cherry juice CheriBundi. I was given 4 (8oz) bottles of the three flavors available. There is Tru Cherry, Skinny Cherry, and Whey Cherry. I sampled each, one day apart so as not to confuse my taste buds. I began with the Whey Cherry, and while I had to shake it fairly often to keep it mixed properly, I did like it. It was a little higher in calories than I would have preferred, but it also packs a protein punch. 8g of protein in one 8 oz. serving. I could also taste the whey, but it was certainly not unpleasant. It contains milk, so I don't think the vivid cherry taste was a prevalent in this bottle. Although, I must admit, it did taste a bit like a cherry pie...just as they had said it would. Next, I had the TruCherry. I really liked this very much, but again, a few more calories than I'd like. These products are made from Michigan and New York cherries (tart), and each 8 oz bottle equals 2 servings of fruit (50 cherries in each). I was totally unaware of a tart cherry juice, so finding these items was a nice change of pace from my usual pomegranate juice. Lastly, I drank the Skinny Cherry juice. It was very tasty, and I liked it quite a bit. It is sweetened with Stevia, so the calorie count was more to my liking. Even with extra calories, I really liked all of the choices, but if I was going to purchase these items, I'd be getting the Skinny Cherry.

Each bottle contains Phytonutrients, the building blocks in fruits and veggies, they provide more benefits than green tea and other juices. They all have a high ORAC (oxygen radical absorbance capacity) rating. In reading about this, it means CheriBundi will absorb and neutralize free radicals. As a personal aside, I would say these are all worth a try. They are a wonderful tasting change of pace from the grocery store juices.

I am suspending Weigh In Wednesday for an undetermined period of time. I lost .8# this last week, but I think I'm going to try the "intuitive" method for a while. Not being married to the scale, but being cognizant of what I'm putting in my mouth sounds better to me. Besides, I'm quite sure the scale has turned against me and is rebelling. So for the foreseeable future, I'm going to suspend the Wednesday Weigh In, and resort to a more "touchy-feely" approach to my healthy pursuits. I'm sure I'll hop on those mean, nasty scales once in a while, but I'm not going to record and keep track of what the scales say to me. So for now, "May the force be with me".