First week down-not so great...

Ok, so my first week of boot camp is over. I did pretty well with it for the first three days, but then I petered off quite a bit. It's really hard to fit something so radically different into my regular day-to-day world. And I am not one to follow directions exactly to the rule, so this whole workout is really fighting against my nature. Wait. Am I whining? Nah.

Anyhoo, I only did the "prescribed morning" exercises once. However, I did do them after I got the kids to school. I did great on my calorie intake. But then I found out that I was eating too "few" calories..can you imagine? I had permission to eat MORE! Well, that opened the floodgates and I'm certain I overate, chips, hummus..mmmmmm. Then, I went away for the weekend and indulged in wine, smoked gouda cheese, quiche, white chicken chili, ice cream.... I imagined my trainer wagging her finger in my face saying "uh uh..." and I smilingly slurping down my hot fudge sundae. I'm thinking this is part of the "process" of working out my rebellion. She often screams "How bad to you want it?" when she's pushing us during the workout... Let me tell you, I wanted that sundae!!...BAD!!

Alright. New week. New effort. I probably won't have a weight loss tonight. But I don't have plans that may tempt me to bad...maybe...this week. I'll start again. In fact as soon as I post this I'm off to the treadmill....sigh.

Boot Camp-Day one

Ok, I'm again resurrecting this blog on the account of many reasons including "I've been meaning to..." and "...I should write that on the blog" and because I'm starting "Boot Camp" at my gym. As many of you, I've been challenged to consistently exercise and eat healthy...and this is my latest attempt. It's a ass kicking, food journaling, muscle shaking and mentally draining challenge that I feel the need to chronicle. I'm hoping it will be successful for myself and perhaps inspire or inform my few blog readers along the way. Who knows.

Anyhoo, last night was the first official "class". (We will be meeting twice a week for six weeks.) We received blank food journals, math formulas to figure out how many calories we can eat, exercise "homework" and, of course, we had to officially weigh in. Gag. Although, I tried not to look at what the other ladies weighed (There are eight of us poor suckers.) I scanned the room and quickly figured out that I was the heaviest gal there. I mean for God's sake, one gal who was a few inches taller than me weighed in the 140's!! (I told you I "tried" not to look, not that I didn't look...) I would be absolutely giddy at that weight!!

The workout was, let's say....HARSH! Shaking muscles, impossible push ups (no sissy girl push ups, mind you!), sweating and exhaustion were all highlights of the evening. Normally after I work out I actually feel better, but not so tonight. I came home red faced, sweaty and, dare I say, bitchy. There I said it. Thinking about it, I think I was crabby because I realized how pathetically weak I am! I knew I wasn't it the best of shape, but geez! It was down right embarassing.

Now, here I am the day after. My muscles are sore and tight. Part of my homework is to perform 25 sit ups, BEFORE I get out of bed in the morning. As soon as those are done and my feet hit the floor, I must proceed on to 50 squats! And if that's not enough...on to 20 push ups! Then finish off the "good morning, aren't you happy to be here" package with 8 "breathes" of downward facing dog (yoga, my dear.). Did I mention that I'm NOT a morning person and to function at all is a mere miracle? But I did it...well, I skimped on the squats out of mistake...I only did 30. But I'll do the remaining 20 at lunch....yes, we have an assignment for lunch in addition to our daily 45 minutes of cardio.

I think I feel that bitchiness coming back...

Simple Beauty.

The day we drove in the driveway after 4 days of camping. I found a bucket on my porch.



My neighbor Daron had brought back a bucket he had borrowed and tucked inside was a carefully arranged straw nest with 18 eggs in hues of brown, white and blue from his flock of chickens. He owed me the eggs from an earlier trade we made in the spring; but he didn't owe me the charming presentation. I loved it. Simple beauty.

How my garden grows

In an earlier post I mentioned a lily that I discovered. It has bloomed and so I thought I'd post a picture of the pretty pink lily. While I'm at it I also thought I'd share some other views of the plants in my garden. Enjoy!



I knew beets were tasty, but didn't realize how pretty they were!



This mini head of broccoli has, so far, escaped my son's grabby little fingers!



This is a fun jumble of three pots! (I pounded a metal bar down the middle to keep them from toppling over.)

Strawberry cubes

Last week I was in a mad rush to get everything ready to go camping. However, as I am apt to do, I further complicated my week by trying to squeeze in some raspberry
picking because I was afraid that we would miss them by the time we got back. So off the family went to pick raspberries...my favorite of all berries.

We pick at the D&K Orchards, which is halfway to Conklin, I think. It's a lovely farm with a beautiful house, pretty peacocks (kids love these) and a plethora of fruit and veggies to offer throughout the summer.

This is the house at D&K Orchards. Isn't it pretty?

Here are two of the handful of peacocks. Isn't the albino peacock interesting?

Since we're on a "call list" they called early last week, thus spurring us to seek the raspberries, despite the busy schedule. Sadly, I believe they called us too early for when we arrived there weren't many rasberries that were ripe. However, I wandered around and found that their strawberries were still producing and proceeded to picked 5 or 6 quarts of strawberries! They were beautiful, red and juicy!



Now, funny thing is, I tend to forget that after picking them, I actually have to do something with them when we get home. They are not merely decor to be placed on the table.... But again I remind you (and I should've reminded myself BEFORE picking) that I had more than enough to do with regular chores and preparing for camping! So what to do?

Inspiration struck with an idea that was quick and easy...strawberry cubes! I swiped the ice cube trays from the camper and lined them up on the counter. I grabbed my trusty KitchenAid blender and dumped the strawberries in with just a little bit of sugar. I blended away and proceeded to pour the strawberries into the trays and popped them into the freezer. VIOLA!! This all took probably less than 20 minutes. Later, I popped all the strawberry cubes out and put them into a freezer bag. I plan on using these for smoothies, or even adding them to a tall glass of lemonade!

Any ways, I've included a few pictures from our days of raspberry, I mean "strawberry" picking. I hope to pick raspberries soon...

Pennies on the dollar

OK, many of you may already know that I've been on this "coupon-clipping" Savings Angel thing for the last 7 months or so. It's been a lot of fun, becoming almost a hobby! I truly have saved a ton of money, and as a result of learning this method, will never shop the same again. I love coming home and telling Fred how much we saved. A few nights ago, however, I really played it up and played "The Price is Right" game with him, regardless that it was past midnight when I got home! I carefully piled all the groceries on the dining room table and asked him to declare what he thought I paid for them! Here's the photo..what's your guess?

Que the drumroll,please!

I paid, $2.93!!!

Yes, I'm serious!!
(A six pack of beer couldn't have made me feel more giddy!!)

Lessons from the Garden, Part 1

During the summer months, when the kids are on vacation and we don’t have anywhere in particular to be in the morning, it is my habit to grab a cup of coffee and take a walk in the garden with the dogs. I choose this time not only for the coolness of temperature and the songs of the birds, but because it is the time of day that I can let the dogs run without fear of crabby neighbors getting upset because the dogs may have wandered into their yard. Rudy and Rosie enjoy this time immensely, they practically bounce as they run and you can almost see smiles on their faces. I don’t bounce, well maybe parts of me do, but I truly enjoy this ritual as well.

If the dogs are behaving well, not wandering too far or digging in the garden, I often will check the garden beds for weeds, or to see how the plants are progressing. This happened this morning. The dogs enjoyed an extended time to run and play as I decided to pull weeds out of a garden bed that I had ignored for too long.

This particular garden bed still has a few perennials in it that are alive, despite my neglect. A Japanese iris is currently sporting deep purple blooms, seemingly oblivious to the weeds that are attempting to overcome it. However, the other few perennials are indistinguishable in a sea of green chaos. I have big plans for this little area, and it’s just been bumped up to the top of my “to do” list.

I envision a multi-tiered raised bed, bordered by the fieldstone that we’ve been piling for years at the edge of the woods. Nasturtiums spilling over the four corners, a mass of low maintenance perennials or herbs in the middle and a dramatic centerpiece of striking flowers or perhaps a water fountain, is all part of my evolving plan. But before I can proceed on with the grand scheme, the weeds must be pulled.

With a garden fork, I loosened the dirt and began pulling the weeds. Every now and again, I came across a plant that suspiciously resembled poison ivy. Although this caused me to proceed more cautiously, it did not deter my effort, and with gloved-hand, I carefully pulled it out by the stem. As I approached the middle of the garden bed, I discovered an Asiatic lily that had been completely covered by the weeds.

It was about 8 inches tall, much smaller than it should’ve been, and it’s foliage was a light lime green because it had not been afforded enough light from the sun. Regardless of it’s obviously stunted appearance; it still supported five plump buds. It stopped me cold in my weed-ripping tracks.

I had a perfect opportunity to work on this garden bed this morning, the dogs were behaving, the kids were inside watching a movie, and the weather was sunny and cool. I had no time constraints and could work all morning at it if I wanted. But despite this, I could not bring myself to uproot this lily and move it into a pot or another garden bed to make way for my new plan. If I did so, I ran the risk of stressing the plant and that would mean the buds would most certainly fall off without ever having the chance to bloom. Then the thought occurred to me…. everything should have its chance to bloom, no matter where it is. Better yet, EVERYONE should have a chance to bloom.

How many times have we walked by people, ignored because they are planted in the middle of chaos? Or perhaps overlooked because we are too busy focusing on our exciting plans to notice them and we plow right through. Our daily “weeds” can sometimes consume and smother the beautiful blooms we have to offer. And sometimes the weeds get so big, that we need others to help us uproot them.

I cleared the weeds from around the lily, found my wandering coffee mug and directed the dogs back to the house. In the coming morning walks, I will be pulling weeds again, checking on the progress of the green beans, scolding Rudy for digging up my ferns, and most definitely, watching for the blooms of that lily.