Wow! It's Been a Month

Sorry, I didn't realize I haven't posted for a whole month. I've never slacked so much on my blogs.

Health Issues: I've been going through some health issues. In August I had my gallbladder removed, which I'm so glad I did. I hardly ever have heartburn anymore. It was so severe at times I couldn't stand it. I was taking over the counter heartburn meds everyday. Now I hardly ever take them. Hooray!

On another note, I was dealing with feet problems before that. I got my left foot fixed up and now my right foot has been causing me all kinds of problems. I went for a x-ray and then a MRI. Well, the orthopedic said I have arthritis developing in my right foot probably brought on from foot surgery I had a good while ago. Well, I'm having a hard time excepting that so am going to get a second opinion in a week or so. It's not that I don't believe him as much as I don't want to except this conclusion, although I may have to. Unfortunately, my foot burns so bad on the bottom sometimes it's hard to walk, and I don't want to give up my volunteer work walking dogs for the animal shelter. So, a second opinion is the way to go. At least I need to know how to keep it under control so it doesn't get worse.

Exercise: Well, I've been doing some dog walking and love spending time with these animals. That being said, I only do that a couple of times a week, and when my foot hurts really bad I need to find other avenues to take when it comes to exercise. I went out last week and bought some of those stretch bands. Haven't taken them out of the box yet, but I really do intend to. With that being said, I only lost about 2 lbs. but as always, losing even a small amount is better than none at all. Right?

If anyone has any suggestions on what type of exercise to do that will take the strain off my feet, please let me know. Also, any tips on arthritis of the foot will be helpful and appreciated.

Some Suggestions from Others I've Learned: Well, I've asked several people since the doctor said I have arthritis and some people suggested these tips to help:
New Balance Shoes: I've found a site on the Internet but haven't bought any yet. Go here to New Balance to find a store close to you. Just type in your zip code and the closet store will come up.
Dr. Scholl's shoe inserts: I went to Wal-Mart to use that foot machine you stand on and then it recommends the type of insert you will need. This site HERE explains it. They are a little bit pricey but for the comfort, and if you can barely walk, it's worth the price you pay I guess. I guess it's half the price at a doctors office. At least that's what someone told me.
Cold Compresses: I've also been putting a cold compress on my feet when they burn and are inflamed, which seems to help temporary.

I guess everyone needs to find out what works best for them. Please make sure that you ask your own doctor about what to use. I'm not recommending anything, just saying what suggestions were told to me and things I've been trying.

An Update ...

Just a quick update and why I haven't been blogging lately. As you know I've been trying to lose weight and not being very successful at it at the moment. Anyway, I figured since I was having a hard time pushing myself to exercise and the fact that I love dogs, I decided to start volunteering at an animal shelter a few days a week. It keeps my mind off the food, so it helps me, and it helps the dogs by walking them and spending time with them.

I knew I'd enjoy working with the dogs because it doesn't matter what breed they are, I just love them. I was really worried I would have a hard time leaving them once there, and even though that part is hard, it's wonderful knowing that you are making their lives a little bit better in a way. I wasn't prepared for how much I would enjoy it. I absolutely love working with them. They are so sweet and you get to hear their stories. Makes you want to take them all home.

So, anyway, that's what I've been up to. I have lost a pound and a half. Not much but I'm working on it everyday. Well, not really, I'm working on it when I visit the dogs. But, that being said, it is getting me motivated to start to do more things and that's gotta be a good thing. Right? The more I get moving the more I want to move and hopefully it will get me kick started to get into some kind of exercise routine.

Heck! I don't even mind getting soaking wet like I did the other day to spend time with the dogs at the shelter. It's worth it. So, If you have some extra time to spare, maybe you can volunteer at your local animal shelter. I know some of you say well I can't do it because I won't want to leave them there. To that I say, just remember your doing it for them. It's better to spend time with them for a little while than none at all. And, who knows those of you who are trying to lose weight and get fit and healthy may just find yourself losing a little bit of weight in the bargain.

Here's just a couple sweet dogs at the shelter...
Daisy...

And, Woody...
but there are so many more. To see more at this shelter go here: Paws (photos taken by Paws)

Or visit your local shelter in your own area. All these animals are just waiting for loving homes.

Exercised

I got my exercising in today again and walked 2 miles. Foot still hurting but I'm just hoping the pain goes away.

Exercised Today - Yeah!

I got out and walked this morning first thing before getting on the computer. I think I may have to forgo the computer in the morning until I get my exercising in. I walked a little over a mile and a half. Comes out to 1.6 of a mile to be exact. Now I'm hoping I can keep it up tomorrow and the next day, and the next, and so on.

It's the first major amount of time I've walked since my surgery. It's been about 3 weeks now, so I'm hoping that I can get back into exercising without a problem. Still worrying about my one foot but we'll have to wait and see how it feels.

My dog also got his one lap in which is only a quarter of a mile = to .4 of a mile. He is also overweight but he's a smaller dog and doesn't like to walk much.

Snacks That Take Longer to Eat / Exercise

I bought some cherries the other day at the grocery store and they were the best one's I've had in awhile. I like the darker cherries. Sit down and have a bowl of cherries for a great snack. You can eat these slowly because you have to worry about the pit. This will keep you away from other snacking and they have more nutrition value than junk food. Cherries have vitamins A, vitamins C and potassium. Some sites say that the darker the cherry the richer it is in antioxidants.

I found this nutrition label on cherries on the Internet...(I believe this is for sweet cherries).

A few tips on how to pick cherries at the grocery store...
1. Pick cherries with the stem still on them and they should be able to store in your fridge for up to 10 days.
2. Also avoid cherries with dark colored stems.
3. Cherries should be firm to the touch but not hard.

This snack not as nutritious as cherries but will last alot longer is the good ole Tootsie Roll Pop. If you're on Weight Watchers, they are only 1 pt. and they take along time to eat.


It's nice to have these on hand in the evening when you want something but aren't hungry or just don't want to blow your whole day when you did so well keeping on track. Add a cup of tea with either the cherries or the tootsie pop and it could last you enough to satisfy your sweet tooth.

Exercise: Just a quick note on my exercise. I did walk yesterday but only a quarter of a mile, .4 to be exact. I didn't walk longer because it started raining pretty good here. It's been just a little over 2 weeks now since I've had my surgery and now I want to start walking more. I'm gonna try to get back into a routine.

Exercise Today - Maybe

This is my 2nd week after surgery. I haven't been doing much so today I may take a short walk. Thought I'd try to get going a little bit. I need to start getting this weight off. I'm still having trouble with my one foot which no one knows what's wrong with it yet. I bought a food tracker book to write everything down. I always start out the day with good intentions of tracking and by 3 pm or so, it always seems to fall to the waste side. Keep trying I guess, never give up.

I'll probably try and go to the farmer's market today to see if I can get anything healthy and try and start counting calories and/or points like Weight Watchers. I also have to lower my carbs because of diabetes, and also now fats since I had my gallbladder removed. Pretty soon I won't be able to eat anything.

About six of us girls started our own weight loss group last week and are trying to commit to losing 10 lbs in 10 weeks. 10 in 10. We are just trying to motivate each other and give each other tips and tricks to staying in control over food and exercise. We'll see if a new group helps me out any. It maybe just what I need since not much else is helping.

National Spay/Neuter Awareness Week / Exercise

I belong to a Inspirational book group and a lady there started to suggest we do a little bit more to help make life better for someone whether it be a women's shelter, working with animals, working with the homeless, working with children, an aging home, or whatever it be, everyone could use your help in these times of trouble. Even if it's just one at a time, it matters to that one.

I had thought about it alot before it was ever mentioned but I guess now it's time to do somthing. The timing feels right now. Put my money where my mouth is so to speak. Plus, I have a little bit of extra time when the kids are in school to now help out elsewhere. Make a difference.

I thought about where I'd like to spend my time to volunteer and have always loved animals of all kinds and especially dogs. So, I recently started the process of volunteering at a animal shelter. The animals that don't get put into foster homes have to stay at the shelter in a cage all night. These animals spend at least 10 hours in their cages and can't get out to go to the potty or have human contact in those hours. I figured I could make their lives better at least by spending time with them and walking them. Getting them out to potty or whatever needs to be done. It will probably be several more weeks before I get started but I'm looking forward to it.

This Saturday is National Spay/Neuter Awareness Week and I would like everyone to please get your dog or cat spayed or neutered. This helps these poor animals from being put down if no one adopts them. And, if you can adopt an animal, please think about a shelter dog. I've adopted several animals over the years at adoption centers and they all are loving animals. The older animals are always harder to get someone to adopt them, but trust me, they make wonderful pets and you don't have to go through the puppy stage. They are are already potty trained. The one's I've adopted have been older like a year to three years old. I would consider older dogs too that can't get adopted. Heck, if I had alot of land I'd probably have a herd of dogs but unfortunetly, I don't have space for that many. So, I can help in other ways.

Please watch this video about adoption week. Go to International Homeless Animals

Here's my dog, Tucker, I adopted about seven years ago. He was about a year and a half old when I first adopted him.


In the past I've adopted several others who have sadly passed away but brought years of joy to our lives. I've had a Beagle, German Shepard, Huskies, Border Collie and several others. Even if you can't adopt, think about volunteering at your local shelter and help better the lives of these lonely animals. If you can only help one dog or cat, it's one, and it means alot to that one.

I've read that the shelters also would love donations and not just money. Some shelters also need cages, pet food, blankets, collars, leashes, etc. Call your local shelter to find out what they maybe in need of.

And, after all that you may ask; What does all this have to do with exercise? Think about it...What not multi-task? Help out an animal and also get your walking in. This will help both of you. This way if you volunteer you have to be committed to the dogs and you get your exercise in. No excuses as to why you can't do it. Even if you volunteer for something else, you are committed to being there and this will help your weight loss efforts too.

Exercise after Surgery - Movie - Books - Volunteering - Weight

Exercise: Here's my new update on my exercise since surgery. It's only been nine days since I had surgery to get my gallbladder out. I walked this morning and yesterday for about a 10 min. walk. I know it isn't much but it's a start.

Movies: I went to see Eat, Pray, Love, yesterday and really enjoyed it as a movie. All the whinny stuff was cut out of it. You can't go wrong with Julia Roberts playing in a movie so she makes it interesting.

Sometime this weekend we may go see The Expendables with Sly Stallone, B. Willis, and all the other macho guys who play in it.

I guess while I'm healing it's been a movie kind of weekend.

Books: Now onto books. What's everyone reading? Since I still can't do alot of twisting movements, I am reading (and watching movies). What else can you do? Anyway, I started the book called "The Quickening" by Michelle Hoover. I have several other books lined up, like Nancy Grace's book, Half-Broke Horses, and several others.

Volunteering: I guess this could also be in the exercise section but it's a new topic for me. The other day I felt this compelling need to voluteer at our local dog shelter. So I sent out a email and you have to go through alot of hoops just to volunteer. I figured I could go walk the dogs and do some little extra things here and there that need done. Mostly spend time with the animals to keep them company. Seems you have to take a training course to do this. I walk my dog everyday, but who knows? You need to also fill out forms, and sign you won't hold them accountable for anything that may go wrong. I thought volunteering would be easy. I figured I could help the animals by walking or taking care of them, and also helping myself with some exercise with knowing I have to be there to walk them. My dog doesn't like to walk much. So, I guess I will wait and see what happens.

Review on Weight Loss: One last thing...It's been 13 weeks now since I said I'd commit to losing weight and getting healthy. I gained 4 lbs in 3 months and lost 4 lbs in 3 months, so I am now just even after 3 months. I can't believe 3 months has gone by already. Wow! Since then I've been dealing with foot problems and gallbladder surgery. My one foot feels great now, I'm still dealing with the other foot. Maybe I shouldn't have said anything about losing weight and getting healthy. Argh! Hopefully, the next 3 months will be better.

National Dance Day

Did you know that Saturday, July 31st is National Dance Day? Your suppose to get out and dance. It's a way to recognize dance as a form of exercise and to get healthy. If you want to find out more about it you can go to Fox National Dance Day to see if there's something near you. Unfortunately for me there isn't.

And, if you can't get out to dance somewhere just dance in your living room.

A good way to burn off some calories.

Haven't Posted in Awhile - Health Issues - Decluttering

Health Issues: Sorry I haven't posted in awhile. I just got my one foot healed up pretty good. They believe it was from a Planter's Wart on the bottom of my foot which she froze. It took two times but now my foot is feeling good.

That being said, my right foot is still hurting. After a x-ray not showing anything 3weeks ago, the doctor now believes it could be a stress fracture. There is no indication it is anything else. So, I will now have to go through another test. It's a bone scan for my foot kind of like the Hida test I just had done for my gallbladder. What they do is about the same thing by putting a radioactive dye into your system and then slowly scan the foot area to see how things are going.

This past week I had a Hida scan done about the same way to check my gallbladder function. The doctor said my gallbladder is only functioning about 17% and will have to come out. So needless to say I get to have surgery next week.

I'll have to then do the bone scan a few weeks after that to test to see if I have a foot fracture. If I do I may have to wear a shoe type cast or have a cast put on depending on what they want to do.

So, with all this I haven't been getting my exercise in and not eating so well either. Seems when I'm stressed I tend to eat more junk food. Once all this is healed up, I need to work on doing a food cleanse for my body.

Decluttering: Thought I'd let you know what I have been up to with my decluttering goals. If you want to see everything I've gotten rid of since Jan. of 2010, just scroll down to the bottom of this blog. But, yesterday I cleaned out some books and got rid of about 165 books. It feels good getting rid of this stuff that's taking up space. If you remember my goal this year is to get rid of clutter and to simplify what I have. That way I can find things easily. I'm tired of holding onto things or storing things that I hardly ever use or look at anymore.

Some of my next goals will be to clean out some cupboard space and get rid of some dishes and glassware. I also want to declutter my clothes that I hang onto just incase I'll get back into them. I say, the hell with it, I want to buy new clothes if I lose weight. I deserve it! Right?

Here's a few questions for you...
Do you keep your books that you've read or do you get rid of them? And, if you keep some, how do you decide on which one's to keep? Are they signed? Favorite author? Do you intend to read them again someday?

Do you keep clothes that you can't wear or do you just get rid of them? If you keep any of them, when do you decide you've kept them long enough? 6 months? A year? Longer?

New Week, Vent, Decluttering, Exercise, All of It

Okay this is going to be a little about everything.

New Week/Exercise: Sunday started a new week for me with exercise. It's now Monday and no exercise. Still having problems with my feet but they feel a little better today. So I decided to do some decluttering and get rid of some more clutter of stuff I don't use anymore.

Onto Decluttering: I posted alot of stuff for giveaway on FreeCycle. If you go to yahoo and type in Freecycle you can find your location. All you do is join the list for your county and then post things you would like to giveaway for free or you can ask for things you want and hope you get someone who will give you something in return. I haven't requested anything yet because I'm trying to get rid of stuff. I gave alot of things away a few months ago.

Well, today and yesterday, here's all the stuff I got rid of...
· Old Typewriter
· 30 gal bag of men's clothes and shoes
· 30 gal. bag of women's clothes and shoes
· My 10 ft by 6 ft blow up pool.
· Childs plastic picnic table
· Small beach umbrella
· 2-30 gal. bags of toddler toys
· Lg. Patio umbrella
· Computer monitor

It feels great to know all of this stuff is out of the house but I still need to get rid of stuff I don't use. I really want a clutter free house this year. That's my goal along with losing weight, eating right, and exercising more.

Here comes the vent: Why do people tell you and practically beg you to hold something for them and then don't show up? It's free! How much easier is it to get stuff with that price? Again I say... FREE! Is it really too much to ask that if you ask me to hold something to pick it up? I am trying to declutter like I said and want to get rid of the stuff I am clearing out. Then someone seems like they really want it and then they either don't show up or say, Oops! I didn't really want it. This of course is after I tell the other people that it is spoken for.

Okay, done with my soap box. This is the kind of stuff that makes you go to the ice-cream cooler. Am I on Big Brother? Is there a saboteur?

Exercise and Food

Still in the no exercise zone due to feet problems. But on the bright side, my tomato and cucumber plants are almost ready in the garden. I love tomato sandwiches with mayo and pepper. And, cucumbers are a great snack. Since we're talking about tomatoes and cucumbers here's a few nutition facts I got from the Internet.

Cucumbers - Are made up of mostly water, a little over 90% according to one site. If you look at other site it varies. They all agree that's it's over 50% water though. It's a good source of vitamin C with a few other nutrients thrown in. Cucumbers are good for the digestive system and have a cleansing affect on the bowel.

And, the added benefit very low on calories. One cup is = to only 16 calories. Cucumbers are great on sandwiches or just slice them up and add some dill, a good snack.
Here's a recipe for a quick cucumber salad.

CUCUMBER ONION SALAD

1 large cucumber
1 medium onion
1 large tomato
zesty Italian dressing
wine vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

Cut up cucumbers, onion, and tomato in small cubes. Salt and pepper as desired. Add 1 tbsp wine vinegar.
Add enough Italian dressing to cover (more or less to desired taste).
Great as a side dish for many meals.
Submitted by: Dee Chilton

Cucumber snack I got from this website: Cooks.com



Tomatoes - Tomatoes are a good source of vitamin A and vitamin C. Also known to lower your chances of cancer.

Tomatoes come in at less than 30 calories per cup.

Here's a tomato recipe snack. I haven't tried it yet but it looks good.

Stuffed Tomato Snacks
Cherry tomatoes
(larger ones are easier to stuff)
Low-fat cottage cheese
Sunflower seeds
Wash the tomatoes and slice off
the tops. Scoop out the seeds and
pulp. Fill each tomato with cottage
cheese. Sprinkle sunflower
seeds on top.

(Sorry I forgot which site I found this on.)

And, if you want to combine the two...Use this recipe also from Cooks.com

EASY TOMATO/CUCUMBER SALAD

1 tomato
1/2 cucumber, peeled
1 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup sour cream
dill to taste

Dice tomato and cucumber into small cubes of desired size.
Combine all ingredients in a salad bowl.

Refrigerate for at least 45 minutes, then serve.
Submitted by: Theresa S

Update: Still No Exercise

Thought I'd give you a quick update on my exercise routine. I still haven't been exercising because of my feet. If I had a exercise bike, I'd use that but I don't. Hopefully, I can get back into it soon. I feel so disappointed because I tried to start and now problems with my feet. I am working on getting it taken care of, got a x-ray the other day but still no one has gotten back to me with my results. Argh! I've already called at least three times. Anyway, will update again later.

New Week it's Sunday...Happy 4th of July!

Happy 4th of July everyone! I know you'll be having your BBQ's today. Keep it safe and don't eat too much side salads like macaroni or potato.

I thought I'd talk a little bit about watermelon today. I eat alot of watermelon in the summer and when you think picnics you probably have a tendency to think about watermelon.

I got a email this morning from South Beach Diet tips and it had in there that on the South Beach Diet you aren't to eat watermelon till phase 3. I always thought watermelon was the least calorie and thought of it as a good diet food. The reason they tell you not to eat much of it is because it can make your blood sugar levels rise faster especially if your diabetic and can cause cravings. A serving size is equal to one cup of watermelon chunks or one small wedge.

That being said it is still a good source of vitamin C. From the website Wikipedia"Watermelon contains about 6% sugar and 92% water by weight."

I also got this information from the Wikipedia site that I didn't know. "Notable is the inner rind of the watermelon, which is usually a light green or white color. This area is edible and contains many hidden nutrients that most people avoid eating due to its unique flavor."

And...

"Watermelon rinds are also edible, and sometimes used as a vegetable. In China, they are stir-fried, stewed or more often pickled. When stir-fried, the de-skinned and de-fruited rind is cooked with olive oil, garlic, chili peppers, scallions, sugar and rum. Pickled watermelon rind is also commonly consumed in the Southern US. Watermelon juice can also be made into wine."

I guess I need to eat a little less of this fruit since it raises blood sugar levels. I was diagnosed with diabetes last year and have to control my blood sugar levels. I always looked at the watermelon as a safe fruit but I will need to look at other fruits a little bit more carefully too. Which goes to show you I guess we all need to do our research while trying to lose weight.

Exercise: On a side note I didn't do any exercise this week. When we went away last week to visit family for three days it totally threw me off my schedule. I guess you could say I making up excuses but it's the only one I have. When I go away I don't tend to exercise and when I came back I felt sluggish again. So this week it's back to my workouts!

Getting Back Into the Groove

Well, ever since I got back from visiting family members I can't seem to get back into the groove of exercising. We we're only gone three days this past weekend. Came back and haven't exercised at all this week. I did however went swimming in the pool when we were there twice if that counts. But, I really wasn't doing that much exercise.

The dog even had a hard time for a few days getting back into the groove. So, What's the matter when we go away for a few days to return to not being able to get back into the routine we were doing before we left?

I have to get back into exercising again and soon before I have to start all over again. Any suggestions? How do you return to your normal routine when you're away and return?

I did weigh-in on Wednesday and lost .2 of a pound. Not sure how I did it, but I'll take any loss I can get. It's better than gaining.

It's Tuesday...

Food:
Breakfast: Yogurt, flax grain (to help lower my triglycerides), blackberries, coffee
Lunch: Hamburger (no roll), re-fried beans, salad, lemonade
Dinner: Grilled chicken, green bean casserole, Diet Pepsi
Snack: Hard pretzels and cocoa.

Exercise: Walked 2 miles on the treadmill.

My feet are still hurting so I am getting them checked out tomorrow to see what's going on. It's hard to exercise with the bottoms of your feet hurting.

Walked on Treadmill

Exercise: I got up this morning and did another 2 miles on the treadmill. My feet still hurt but I need to keep up with my exercising. I also did a few upper body weight lifting exercises.

I've been trying to stay away from junk food, and thought I'd allow myself one day a week to indulge in something sweet like a candy bar or piece of pie or whatever. Usually I weigh in on Wednesday, once a month, so I usually allowed myself a snack on Thursday. I did this many moons ago or at least it feels like it. So, I figured I'd try this method again.

Today I ate:
Breakfast: yogurt, coffee
Lunch: Ceasar salad, pasta penne with chicken made by Applebees.
Dinner: Perogies, fruit, diet Snapple.
Snack: Fruit, granola bar, diet Pepsi.

What's your exercise routine?

What's your favorite exercise equipment? (This could also be exercise tapes if that's what you use.)

And....Can anyone help me out? To get on the blog directory at plus size bloggers blog, I need my badge button to be 125 x 125 in size. Anyone know how to do this? Can you explain it to me? Please! I have picture it program and have tried to resize in photobucket but can't seem to get it right. If you can help me out with this, I will gladly add your blog badge to my sidebar.

Exercise and Food

Update for Sunday.

Exercise: I finally got out and walked a mile this evening. It was hard for me because the bottom of the ball of the foot has been in pain. Here's a photo from the Internet I found that shows the spot of the burning pain when I walk.



I'm not sure what it's coming from, whether it's health related or the shoes I'm wearing. A few weeks ago I bought new pair of expensive sandals (I won't name names) which I love but wondering if they could be the cause of the pain. Although, I had been wearing them about everyday since I got them.

The humidity has been high and I have been getting swollen ankles also. It hurts more when I'm barefoot than with shoes on, but right now they hurt either way. So, depending on how I feel tomorrow, I may have to set up an appointment with the foot doctor.

I decided tonight though that I am tired of making excuses for myself why I'm not going to exercise. This isn't an excuse per say, since I am having alot of foot pain. Then I started thinking about the saying, "Use it, or lose it", and got up to go exercise. Meaning walk or lose the ability to walk. I figured I better keep my feet moving.

My dog, Tucker, got in the act and he did a half of a mile. That's about all he'll do without deciding he isn't going to do anymore. He's the dog you see on my badge on the top of my blog here.

Anyway, I'm hoping to get 5 days of exercise in this week, pending my foot problem though.

Food: I also wanted to mention that today I did pretty well when it came to my eating habits. We made hamburgers on the grill, baked beans and corn on the cob. I went with the 100% whole wheat rolls, and passed up the candy and snack foods in the store. I had to talk myself out of it a few times before finally checking out. I stuck with the fruits for my snacks this evening.

Middle of the Week and Book

It's Wednesday and guess what I have NOT been doing? You probably guessed right. I haven't been doing any exercising. I've been making up excuses. Like too much other stuff to do, not enough time, just ate, and the one most of all, it's too hot. The weather has been so hot and the humidity is high. I've been sweating like crazy and just don't want to exercise. Someone needs to kick my butt in gear.

So that being said, I have decided to start on a book called; "Half-Assed" by Jennette Fulda, a memoir book about weight loss.

I'm hoping by reading someone else's weight loss journey it will kick me into pushing myself harder. Can't hurt, right? She also has a blog called Pasta Queen. I haven't really took a look around there yet but I will.

After I'm done reading it I will post my review about it on Goodreads. If you're on Goodreads, I would also love to read your book reviews. Just add me as a friend on my book list by going here: http://Goodreads.com/lv2scpbk

To top it all off we went to the Dairy Queen after we went out to eat. I really wasn't hungry but when someone asks, "Do you want some ice-cream?", I just can't say, NO! I should have. I could have. But, didn't. The tempation was just to great.

A Walk Today

I got up this morning and took a walk with my dog. We only did a quarter of a mile, which is .4 one lap around my development. I'm hoping to do more later on this evening. It's really hot right now outside, so I am trying to wait till it cools down a bit.

So far today, I've only eaten a yogurt and coffee for breakfast. I'm now hungry so will have to find something to eat. I think I may have a salad and try to keep this day on track.

For dinner I am planning on a pork chop, a baked potato on the grill with a side of green beans. It's too hot to cook inside so I'm hoping the grill will do the trick.

I also have been trying to cut back on soda and drink more Crystal Light. It has only 5 calories and is decaf. I've been buying the lemonade and mixing it up and adding fresh fruit. I added strawberries to the regular Crystal Light lemonade. And, I also bought rasberry lemonade and added fresh rasberries. So, not only is it a good drink, you get to eat a few pieces of fruit as well.