137.4 This morning:( Boo!!!

I just want to say that I know why I have gained weight, let me count the ways....

1. One pound of pepperoni sticks made by a local meat store. Yummy!
2. Several, and I mean several, servings of Nacho's from various Mexican restaurants.
3. Potato chips and ranch dressing in the afternoon, but right before dinner.
4. Fruit, whip cream and pretzels with butter and sugar. Now that would not be bad, if I included the carbs in my daily count, but I didn't.
5. Pizza, pizza, and more pizza, oh and did I say garlic bread? Every bite dipped in Ranch dressing?
6. Meat burrito and 2 tacos in one meal.
7. Too many "allowed" treats. Quite a bit of fruit?
8. Working above my target heart rate in Zumba.
9. Sitting on my a$$ most of the day instead of finding something productive to do.
10. Being spoiled by my husband with too many meals out, too many lazy unproductive days, very little exertion or expectations.
11. The weather has been CRAPPY with a captital C and it makes me depressed!

OK, so there's the real reasons, now I feel better. So I believe my lowest weight was 132.9, that means I have gained 4.5 lbs. It took forever to lose that much, and about 3 months to gain that much. So now I have to decide what I am going to do about it? I am coming up with a plan, which I know I won't follow, until I wrap my head around it, or my clothes do not fit at all. So far that hasn't happened, I just have a roll around the middle that I don't really like, that I hate actually. When my head is wrapped around this whole thing, I will blog more, until then, I am being a very bad girl!

Gma K and Cy Noah

On the good front, we have had 2 beautiful days in a row, I had a wonderful fun lunch and shopping trip with a friend yesterday, and  I feel happy today:) Life is good at K's  house!

Aging gracefully:)

My Dad had a best friend named Tracy. Tracy almost died  20+ years ago when a tractor rolled over on him. He said that my Dad came to him (as an Angel)  and told him it was not his time yet, and it wasn't, he lived! Fast forward 20+ years and we ran into Tracy and his grandkids last night. I love to see him because he looked very much like my Dad and they were often mistaken for each other. So much so that his wife joked she could have had an affair with my Dad because people would have assumed she was with Tracy. Needless to say it gives me an idea of what my Dad would have looked like if he had made it past 49 years of age. They were excited to share with me that they had just discovered that their sister in law was buried right near my Dad. They said they often left flowers there for him. I am the only one that visits the cemetery and I am always saddened that his grave sits there empty. It felt good to know that they think of him too. He also was so sweet to say that I had aged "gracefully". It made my whole night:) Tracy's daughter married a man that had my Dad as his master teacher. He was also there. After we left I just wished I had picked his brain about my Dad and what he had learned from him. Hindsight:( It was just so good to see them that my brain wasn't working. Age!
Thursday we went to see Rock of Ages. Now I am not a rock and roll fan, I don't know what I was expecting, but I didn't like the movie. I give big kudos to Tom Cruise/amazing, Julianne Hough/beautiful, and Russell Brand/hilarious,  but the the movie? We were the only ones there so I didn't turn my phone off. My Taryn texted and asked if we wanted her to bring over the movie Thor so we could watch it together. My Taryn offered to spend time with us? Wow!!! So of course I said yes, would love to. She brought Thor and Captain America, loved both, and we watched the movies together and laughed and visited for over 4 hours. This is huge!!! Taryn is a tough one to connect with. The best part of all? My husband sat with us and watched both movies. He is always doing his own thing and rarely spends that much time away from chores or getting things done. I think in her way, this was her way of saying Happy Father's day, and it was amazing. I made breakfast burritos for dinner, which were quite tasty, and we had a great evening. I felt HAPPY!!!
I just want to have a relationship with her, like my other 3 kids. Maybe we are getting there?:) It has obviously helped tremendously that she does not live with us.
Today is my grandson's actual birthday party. It will be a lot of fun. I got him Thor's hammer and helmet. He is also getting a certificate for "Cy's day" which is a day spent with us and 20.00 to spend on whatever he wants. That will be fun.
If you haven't see the Avengers, Thor, Captain America, Iron Man (favorite) you just must!
I may be a couple of lbs heavier, but I am sure happier! I also got the blood work back that my kidneys are back to almost regular function! Woot!!! When I hurt my back awhile ago I took too much ibuprofen and it screws up my kidney function. 2 sets of blood work later, and I am back to as normal as I can be!
Have a wonderful weekend:)
Blessings and feeling Blessed! K

137.4 today! Yikes!!!!

Well, that sucks! Sadly as I mentioned on a post to Dawn, I am in the "I don't care" zone. Bad girl zone!!! I can't say that I have been eating bad things, other than fruit, I have just been eating too much. Maybe I am trying to gross myself out so I will try and lose some more? I did get 2 new pair of my Gap jeans because they were 30 % off and I needed new ones. They fit, but they are definitely more snug around the waist. I know if I don't wear jeans often, I tend to grow. They make me more aware of my weight, so I am hoping having new jeans will motivate me to shrink! Wow, that was confusing to follow!

I wish there was a pool where these trees are!

We had an absolutely beautiful day today and I was able to get some sun time in. I love the sun! My skin at 55 probably doesn't love the sun, but hey, it's one of my only vices.
I did go to Zumba today. It was great! I love to shake my booty, but Lord help me if I ever really see what I look like:)
Our car is out at the dealer yet again. Seriously! We have had over 1000 in repair bills since we paid it off. It is a 2008 with only 16,500 miles on it. How in the heck does that happen??? We are driving a brand new SUV model of our car and it is kind of fun to sit up higher, but I want my car back.
It is my grandson Cy's 5th birthday today. His party is on Saturday and it should be fun. I ordered him Thor's hammer and helmet from Amazon. 2 day free shipping with Amazon Prime membership. I love my Prime!!!
On the BFC front, as I said I am probably eating too much fruit. I enjoyed the pretzels in my fruit so I crushed some up, added some butter and stevia and baked it in muffin tins for 7 minutes. It was soooooo good! I know pretzels aren't wonderful, but a little goes a long way.
Tonight in honor of Rosalie we had hot wings and spinach salad! One day at a time K, one day at a time!
Trina, my youngest kids were 12 and 14 when my husband and I married. He has been their step dad for 1/2 of their life. Don't feel guilty, just feel blessed if he is a good man. It really wouldn't be such a big deal for me if it wasn't for the incredible life my husband has provided for us.
I need a kick in the butt, feel free to give me one!!!

I don't mean to make it sound easy!

My battle scar from Laser Tag

My son's "Boston" girlfriend is the same size as my granddaughter!

I was thinking about how I may come across when I say "I just cut out the crap and I went back down". (weight) That sounds like it was easy-peasy and that I am in total control. NOT TRUE!!! I struggle with the extra lbs just like everyone else, I just seem to know when enough is enough and I MAKE my brain wrap around how much harder it will be to lose 5 lbs than 2 lbs. 2 lbs of fat adds a lot to my waist line, which I swear is the only place that I gain the weight back:( My last post was Wednesday, my weight went back up Thursday, I skipped Zumba Friday and here we are on Sunday! I did not weigh this morning. I have eaten a lot this weekend, tomorrow should be interesting. Just saying, it ain't easy-peasy.

I was like Rosalie yesterday, I felt like crap and I was Debbie Downer to my poor husband. He is Mr. Happy every day, and I can walk around with a black cloud over my head. Weird? I try to figure out if it is food related? But there is no common food, event or anything. I think that I have so many fun things going on at the beginning of the month, 1/2 through and I am bummed. WEIRD!!!
My son's girlfriend from Boston has been here for the last 3 weeks. I have seen her twice. I think this may be the last time I hear about her too. She's a very smart girl, Deans list at Quiniapac, going into her senior year. She is studying to be a Physician's assistant, but she does not have an ounce of personality. She is just like his twin sister, my Taryn! I think it was more evident this time since Taryn and Talia were actually living in the same house for all that time and have not had more than a 5 minute conversation. They both don't talk! Matthew is crazy!!!
On the mean kids front, only 1 of my kids has called my husband to say Happy Father's Day. Kayce is always nice, but the other 3. Ugh!!! He has been their step Dad for 12 years and not a word. I hope I made the day special for him. I should have him quit using his money for all of their gifts, etc. and then they might realize, since I don't work!!! Believe me, he has been amazing to them, they will get it someday.
I hope everyone had a great weekend! Cheers to a GREAT week ahead!

136 Today:)

I am now just 1 lb over my goal and I can tell a difference in my tummy. Yay!!! I basically just cut out all the extra "crap" I was eating and I went back down. I have still eaten quite a bit of fruit, but that's another story.
I had such a fun day today. Zumba this morning, I am back on track!!! And tonight my girl friends all went and did laser tag. At first I thought what a waste of money for 15 minutes, but 15 minutes was plenty. I was sweating like crazy. It was so much fun and I can't wait to do it again. I was 4th out of 6, so I obviously could use some practice!
We then went to MacKenzie River Pizza co. for dinner. I had a 1/2 lb burger and waffle fries. I only ate 1/4 of the bun and about 5 fries with Ranch. It felt good. 4 of the 6 of us are doing WW. They ordered 3 desserts for 5 people! I had no desire to taste or eat any of them. I knew I could come home and have my chocolate no bake. So they all had salads and dessert and they are paying 45.00 a month for WW??? Call me crazy! Call me judgmental, I don't mean to be, but really???

I did it!!!

We have been having tons of thunder and lightening, so I was determined to capture  lightening with my slow shutter camera! I took about 150 pictures to get this one, that actually looks cool. I was persistent and it paid off!

Grant Noah:)

Funny story, yesterday was my son's 33rd B.D. I called him and he was at a fast food place with his 2 children. My granddaughter asked if I wanted to sing to my son, so I said sure and she handed him back the phone. I went into my rendition of Marilyn Monroe singing to President Kennedy and he started laughing. He had put me on speaker phone and let the restaurant here me sing! Does that make me famous? He said I sure "turned heads"!
My son was a big baseball star in H.S. He started early. I believe he had just turned a year  old in this picture. that is my little sister in the background. The one that is now in a nursing home:( See her crutches next to her?
Blessings and happy scales....

136.4 Yikes!!!

Well I guess I am a gainer:) I was 137.9 Friday!  I hope to be a loser again soon. I have come to some conclusions of why this is.... My husband being off work the last 3 months has made me a much better cook. When he was out of town, I would make whatever sounded good and just eat that, now I make full dinners.
We eat out way too much. I make OK choices for the most part, but it is still "fat food", I mean fast food! Whenever I take long breaks from Zumba, I gain weight when I go back. Frustrating, but true.
Notice how I said "conclusions" and not excuses! My excuse is truly that I eat too much. Too many bad things, and I am dang lucky that I don't weigh more! Now that is the truth!
Have you guys ever had the pretzel dessert that has jello, fruit and cool whip on a pretzel crust? It is one of my favorites! Today I came up with the clever idea of adding pretzels to my fruit and cool whip, it was really quite tasty. Just saying:)
I have the best, most amazing news! My daughter and my grandson Karson are coming for 3 weeks in July. They get here July 4th and stay until the 25th. I am sure that I will be complaining about her during that time, but I will do it with love. I can't wait to see Karson and see my preggers daughter. She will be about 7 months pregnant(with baby Konner) , so she is a gutsy girl to travel across the Country with a 2 1/2 year old! My son in law will be in Ranger school. Ranger school is REALLY hard, so prayers for him to make it through would be greatly appreciated!
This is going to be another busy and fun week. Tomorrow is movie day with my hubby, Tuesday is my son's 33rd birthday, Wednesday is "the girls" laser tag and birthday dinner, Thursday is my grandson's last baseball game and Friday so far is free! Maybe, just maybe, we will have some sunshine!
We are still waiting on our granite getting installed, I am starting to get annoyed. We have paid for all but 1200.00 of it, that may be a bad thing? I trust him, but it's been over 4 weeks since he was going to start. Patience K, patience!
Blessings and happy scales....

It's winter here:(

I think the high today was like 44 degrees! It is awful!!! Both of my grandson's baseball games have been cancelled this week. Did you know that canceled can be spelled cancelled or canceled? Just saying:)

Sunroom off the dining room

View from the sunroom

side view from sunroom. Authentic stain glass!

The pond drops into the river and waterfall

Original barn

Front of home

Old cabin they bought on Craigslist and put together like lincoln logs!

I thought I would share some of the beautiful pictures from my friends home yesterday. They live in a log cabin that was built about 100 years ago right on the river. It is beyond beautiful. I wish I would have had my regular camera and not just my phone so you could really see how lush and gorgeous it is. I look around and see a ton of work, it would require a full time grounds keeper, thank goodness she should have been born in the pioneer times!
Every direction you look is more beautiful than the last place. It was raining, so we didn't spend much time outside. It is ALWAYS raining:(
My friend and her husband actually stay out in this little cabin in the summer for something fun to do. It has a loft where you see the window. It is about 12x12 and 5 people lived in it back in the day. Pretty amazing!
Their place was featured in a kids movie about a dog named Frank?(I think) It wasn't seen by many people!
I went to Zumba again today! Great!!! If we could get rid of our winter weather, I would be happy!!!
Blessings and happy scales.....

Same weight, different size:(

Just checking in to share an observation with you all. I am the same weight, within a lb, that I have been for several months, but my tummy is bigger:( I know it is from the lack of Zumba for 3 weeks, and the muscle I did build turned into fat from lack of use. Fat takes up more volume than muscle, thus a bigger waist, with the same weight:( I am truly OK with it because I am back on track with Zumba, and I will whittle that fat back down if it is the last thing I do! The moral of this story? Lapses are fixable, but dang!!! Hmmmmm, the name....The Belly Fat Cure:) As long as you don't catch the disease again!!!

Come visit me!

This is my fun/busy week, with lunch with my gym friends, Bunko and my 3 hour lunch with my wonderful German JoAnn. She just returned from a trip to Germany and Austria, so I will have lots of stories to hear and fun pictures to look at. It feels "empowering" (to steal a phrase) to not be worried or concerned by what I will eat. I will eat what I want to eat, taking into account what works with BFC, and sugar is POISON!!!

Waiting patiently!

Here's a picture of my attempt at gardening:) It is my hummingbird feeder and I want to have a hummingbird visit. Any ideas that will make them come? I saw one in this exact location, so I got the feeder and now no hummingbird:(
We are having horrible weather. My grandson's baseball game was canceled again due to the rain and storms. I will really be happy to have more than a day at a time of sun.
Blessings and happy scales:)