Day 38 of the Diet: Saturday

WEIGHT: 159.0

BREAKFAST: Breakfast sandwich of WW English muffin, fried egg, 1/2 piece of bacon, and a slice of pepperjack cheese. Glass of skim milk.

LUNCH: turkey breast, swiss cheese, tomatoes, lettuce on whole grain bread with lite mayo in the cafeteria at Dartmouth Hitchcock Hospital in Hanover.

SUPPER: Quesadilla made with a whole wheat tortilla, 4 cheese Mexican blend cheese, tomatoes, chicken breast, salsa, and sour cream. A glass and a half of merlot.

EXERCISE: Not much! We drove 2 1/2 hours each way to visit our friend Stan in the hospital. I want to take a walk tonight but it's crappy out: spitting rain and high winds. So, I think I'm going to be lazy.

I took my camera with me today and took pictures all the way down through the windows. Here are a couple:



Saw this between Stark and Groveton


Here's the Covered Bridge in Groveton. Darn telephone wires!



And this is the Covered Bridge in Stark.

This Isn't Day 35 of the Diet: Friday

I goofed on the counting. Today is the 36th day or 37th. I began on a Thursday so the following Thursday would have been day 8, then the next Thursday would have been day 15, then 22, then 29, then 36 would have been yesterday so today would be day 37. I don't know! I've got to look at a calendar!

WEIGHT: 159.2

BREAKFAST: 1/2 English muffin with Benecol and chicken salad, a banana, and a glass of skim milk

SNACK: a cup of Smartfood popcorn

LUNCH: chicken salad in a WW Deli Flat with an apple and carrot sticks.

COCKTAIL HOUR: 2 glasses of merlot. I needed this after a head-on with a student that sent me reeling, a horrible 4th block class, and a call from my sister saying that my mom is in the hospital. ( I know, that's no excuse!)

SUPPER: a bowl of leftover Chinese Pie and another glass of merlot

EXERCISE: I walked for about 45 minutes tonight.

34th Diet Day: Thursday

WEIGHT: 160.1

BREAKFAST: bowl of Wheaties with sliced banana and skim milk

SNACK: cup of smartfood popcorn

LUNCH: Seafood salad in a WW Deli Flat, carrot sticks, an apple

SUPPER: a good sized helping of Chinese Pie (hamburg sauteed in EVOO and onions, a can of cream corn, and mashed potatoes layered in a baking dish then baked)

EXERCISE: I walked briskly for an hour tonight and also took a walk through the Hydro Park and the Botanical Garden taking pictures. Here are a few of the flowers I found.




I have no idea what this prickly thing is but it was pretty cool.






Tiny purple thingies








A petunia still blossoming








Some yellow things








A wilted daisy

Indian Summer in Berlin, NH

It was in the mid 60s this afternoon so, after school I went for a walk at the Botanical Garden.

This is looking north towards Cates Hill. The church is our only surviving Catholic Church in town. The other three closed and they consolidated. This one used to be St. Anne's but they changed the name to Good Shepherd Parish.

The river is part of the Androscoggin.

More awesome skies can be seen at SkyWatch Friday

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33 days of Dieting: Wednesday

WEIGHT: 159.7

BREAKFAST: 1/2 WW English muffin with Benecol and chicken salad, a banana, and a glass of skim milk.

SNACK: 6 Triscuit Crisps with natural peanut butter

LUNCH: Chicken salad on a WW Deli Flat and an apple

SUPPER: We went to Crabby Jack's in Gorham with Gloria and Dottie and her son, Daniel. I started with 4 tortilla chips and a bit of salsa. I intended to have just one glass of merlot but a buddy of Gary's bought us drinks so I had to have two glasses! I also had the seafood combo of fried shrimp and scallops (I know, I know!), mashed potatoes, and cole slaw. Afterwards, we went to my mother-in-law's for her pumpkin pie. She tried to give me a huge slice but I cut myself a very small piece, instead.

EXERCISE: When we got home I walked around the block for about a half hour.

Ug, Ug, Ug!

I hated the background colors the minute I got them done. I should have just painted over the whole thing...instead, I wrote a couple things and turned the page.

32 Days of Dieting: Tuesday

WEIGHT: 160.4

BREAKFAST: 1/2 WW English muffin with Benecol and chicken salad, a banana, and a glass of skim milk.

SNACK: a cup of low-fat Smartfood popcorn

LUNCH: Chicken salad in a WW Deli Flat, carrot sticks, and a pear.

SUPPER: Leftover rice dish from last Wednesday, 1/2 cup of cottage cheese with a little hot pepper relish on top of it, a glass and a half of merlot. My friend Dottie came over and we sat chit-chatting and sipping our wine. Her husband is still in the hospital from his fall from a roof on Octover 4th. She needed to unwind.

EXERCISE: I walked 7 times around the block.

The First Page

I started a new composition journal and this is the first page. It lies so flat and is nice and light! It won't stay that way for long!

The felt Halloween stickers are from my friend, Anne, and they arrived just in time to make it onto this page. It's amazing how her letters always contain something I can use!

Oh, and the flower is from her, too; it was on the back of an envelope. Not to mention the stamps that she used back in the late 90s!

Day 31 of the Diet: Monday

WEIGHT: 162.0 Weekends are killers!

BREAKFAST: 1/2 English muffin with Benecol and seafood salad, a banana, and a glass of skim milk.

LUNCH: Seafood salad in a WW Deli Flat. 6 Triscuit Crisps with natural peanut butter (This was actually my snack but I forgot to eat it!) and a pear.

SUPPER: Salad with 2 tsp. Thousand Island dressing, 1/2 chicken breast cooked in Vidalia Onion dressing, 1/2 cup of mashed potatoes (mashed with Benecol and skim milk) with a pat of Benecol on top and the au jus from the chicken. Everything was delish but probably way more calories than I should have eaten.

EXERCISE: I walked for 40 minutes around the block with a quarter of it uphill in the clear, crisp air under a half moon.

30 Days into the Diet: Sunday

WEIGHT: 159.8

BRUNCH: My version of eggs benedict: 2 pieces of homemade bread, toasted, with Benecol, lean ham, and fried eggs (fried in canola oil, not bacon grease, like my husband's!). Glass of skim milk.

SUPPER: 2 cheese and tomato open-faced broiled sandwiches with a glass of skim milk.

EXERCISE: 40 minutes of brisk walking plus up and down the stairs for laundry and cleaning. I sat around and read quite a bit, too, so that wasn't good.

Saturday the 29th Day of the Diet

WEIGHT: 159.9

It was pouring when I got up this morning and rained all day. I took this picture when I got up and went downstairs.













BRUNCH: I made myself an omelette with 1 slice of American cheese, red bell pepper, grape tomatoes, lean ham, shredded Mexican cheese blend, and hollandaise sauce. Plus I had a glass of skim milk.

SNACK: 6 Triscuit Crisps with natural peanut butter and a glass of merlot.

SUPPER: I made homemade wheat bread from scratch by hand and had two slices when it came out of the oven. On the first one I had just Benecol but I toasted the second slice and put Benecol and seafood salad on it. I used half whole wheat flour and half white. The recipe came from my old Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook that is almost 40 years old. It called for 3 tablespoons of shortening but I used 2 tablespoons of canola oil and 1 tablespoon of Benecol instead. A little healthier and delish!

EXERCISE: I walked 6 times around the block before it started raining again. Other than that, just the usual cleaning and laundry. Plus the ten minutes I kneaded the bread!

Friday Day 28 of the DD

WEIGHT: Don't know. I overslept and forgot to get on the scale. Tomorrow.

BREAKFAST: seafood salad in a WW Deli Flat and a banana at school because I didn't have time to eat at home.

SNACK: 6 Triscuit Crisps with natural peanut butter

LUNCH: seafood salad in a WW Deli Flat, carrot sticks, apple cider

SUPPER: tuna in 98% fat-free mushroom soup with skim milk on homemade wheat bread with Benecol. (I didn't make the bread; I bought it at the corner store. It's made locally by the grandmother of one of my students. It's not 100% whole wheat but, at least, she uses all natural and real ingredients with no preservatives.) And a glass of milk.

EXERCISE: 6 times around the block.

REFLECTION: I started out calling this the "Damn Diet" because I envisioned feeling hungry and missing my favorite foods (like dips and chips, etc.) but it hasn't been that bad, overall. I've lost a bit of weight and haven't felt deprived at all. I've always done the whole grain thing so that was easy. I thought I'd miss my glass of wine at night but I like myself much better when I'm not feeling like a noodle. Yes, I still occasionally have a glass (or two!) but, I think it's important not to feel like I'm doing something I can't sustain.

And blogging about it really helps when I'm tempted to eat something I know I shouldn't. In the back of my head is the knowledge that I'll have to fess up here.

So, forget about all those expensive diet programs and books; just blog about what you eat and how much you weigh and, voila! It'll work.

Day 27 of The Diet Thursday

WEIGHT: 160.6

BREAKFAST: bowl of Wheaties with sliced banana and skim milk.

SNACK: cup of low-fat Smartfood popcorn

LUNCH: lean ham with canola mayo and horseradish sauce on a WW Deli Flat, an apple and carrot sticks.

SUPPER: seafood salad on a WW English muffin and leftover squash. Glass of skim milk

DESSERT: I actually had this last night and not tonight but forgot to list it then: a tiny piece of apple pie that my mother-in-law made with a small scoop of vanilla ice cream.

EXERCISE: Hiked about 3/4 of the way up Mt. Jasper. My heart was beating away and I was breathing pretty hard but I managed to keep up with the kids, thank you very much!

I was all set to go out for a walk tonight but when I opened the door, I saw that it was pouring and cold so I changed my mind.

Here are a couple candid pictures of Kylie from last night.

Worth Being Late For

I saw this sky just after 7 the other morning and, even though I was running late, I grabbed my camera, ran upstairs, and took this from my bedroom window.

The smokestack is left over from what was once the old Brown Company Paper Mill, makers of Nibroc towels.

For more skies from all over the world, visit SkyWatch Friday.

The Last Page

This is the last page in my third journal. I have a few more pages left but it's just too thick and my poor camera is having a hard time focusing since the left side is puffy and the right is flat.

There really isn't much on this page since I was having a wonderfully lazy day.

26 Dieting Days Wednesday

WEIGHT: 160.3

BREAKFAST: 1/2 English muffin with natural peanut butter and sliced banana and Benecol. Glass of skim milk.

SNACK: a cup of Smartfood popcorn

LUNCH: leftover porkchop chopped up and mixed with canola mayo on a WW Deli Flat. Apple. Carrot sticks

SNACK: a few triscuits with shrimp dip. Glass of merlot

SUPPER: Gloria, Dottie, Erin and Kylie came up for supper. Gary made his Alaskan rice dish (brown rice, onions, peppers, mushrooms, soy sauce, shredded cheese) and we had Pillsbury's Grands with honey butter with that. anotehr glass of merlot.

EXERCISE: I hiked half way up Mt. Jasper with my 3rd block class to write. Ran around after school shopping and preparing for supper. Tht was it, though. I was just too tired to go out for a walk after everyone left.

I'll post some pictures later.

The Diet Continues Day 25 Tuesday

WEIGHT: 159.5 I wasn't sure I believed this but didn't get on again to check it. I took the 159 and felt good all day!

BREAKFAST: bowl of Wheaties with 1/2 banana sliced and skim milk.

SNACK: cup of low-fat Smartfood popcorn. I accidentally bought the low-fat one but it was still pretty good.

LUNCH: turkey breast and canola mayo in a WW English muffin, an apple, a couple carrot sticks, and some homemade apple cider one of the other English teachers brought in. Yum!

SUPPER: 1 pork chop baked with onions and vidalia onion dressing, and squash with brown sugar and a little butter. A glass of skim milk.

EXERCISE: 20 minute walk with my third block kids and a half hour walk tonight.

Two Dozen Days of Dieting: Monday

WEIGHT: 161.2 Same as yesterday. This is the first time it's been the same two days in a row.

BREAKFAST: 1/2 WW English muffin with Benecol and tuna salad. 1/2 a banana. Glass of skim milk.

LUNCH: turkey breast with canola mayo on a WW Deli Flat bun. A cup of Smartfood white cheddar popcorn

SUPPER: Same as last night: a hamburger with canola mayo and hot pepper relish on a WW Deli Flat bun. I also had some squash. It was from a friend's garden. Gary cut it in half then I cleaned out the seeds and muck then sprinkled brown sugar in the cavity and dotted it with a few bits of butter. I covered it lightly with Glad Wrap and cooked it in the microwave for about 15 minutes. Yum! Well, for squash, anyway! Not my favorite but delish cooked this way. (Although not low cal, I'm sure!)

EXERCISE: I took the kids in one of my classes outdoors for them to do a writing assignment but first we took a nice, brisk walk for about 15 minutes. Tonight, I walked for about 40 minutes.

Sunday Dieting Day 23

WEIGHT: 161.2

BRUNCH: omelette made with 2 eggs, greenpepper, pepperjack cheese, hollandaise sauce, and Mexican cheese. Also an orange.

SNACK: 4 Triscuits with whipped cream cheese. Hot buttered rum made with rum, apple cider, cinnamon and a little dab of butter.

SUPPER: hamburger with canola mayo and hot pepper relish on WW Deli Flat. 1/2 can of corn kernels. Another hot buttered rum.

EXERCISE: 9 times around the block plus up and down two flights of stairs getting all the bedding from camp washed and put away.

Yesterday

I used a piece of tissue paper for the background.

I know the picture on the left is a September pic but...it matched!

Still Plugging Away at the Diet: Day 22 Saturday

WEIGHT: 162.0

BREAKFAST: 1/2 WW English muffin with tuna salad. 1/2 cup of crushed pineapple. It was the only fruit I could find in the house. I've GOT to go shopping! And a glass of skim milk.

LUNCH: turkey breast and pepperjack cheese on a grilled WW Deli flat. I used Olive Oil for the grilling. And a glass of skim milk.

SUPPER: I had a Spamwich. Bad, I know. I think Spam is one of The. Worst. Foods. But, once in awhile I just gotta have it! Anyway, I fried it up in EVOO and also fried an egg, smooshing the yolk. Then I put a slice of pepperjack cheese on a lightly toasted and Benecolled WW Deli Flat, then the spam, then the egg. So, so good! Now, normally, I'd have had two but I controlled myself and just stuck to one. I also had a glass and a half of merlot.

EXERCISE: I cleaned and did laundry. The washer and dryer are in the cellar and our bedroom is on the second floor, so I went up and down two flights of stairs plenty. I also cleaned the bathroom, our bedroom, and the kitchen.

Tonight, after that nutritious supper, I went for a walk for about a mile and a half with a quarter of it uphill. 35 degrees, no wind, perfect!

COMMENT: I never had any vegetables today! How awful is that?!

Bits and Pieces from Last Week

I made another forage in the cellar for stamps and also found an envelope my friend had addressed to me when we were spending a winter in Hawaii back in '92.

The flowers and owls are from Anne on the letter I received yesterday.

The confetti leaves fell out of an old letter and made a mess all over the cellar floor! The damn things keep on giving and giving! Thanks so much, Anne!

Dieting Somewhat Day 21 Friday

WEIGHT: 161.9

BREAKFAST: 1/2 WW English muffin with Benecol, canola mayo, 1/2 slice of pepper jack cheese and 3 slices of natural turkey breast. 1/2 apple. Skim milk.

SNACK: 4 triscuits with natural peanut butter.

LUNCH: tuna mixed with canola mayo on WW Deli flat. 1/2 apple, a few carrot sticks.

SNACK: about 5 tortilla chips with guacamole dip, glass of merlot.

SUPPER: This is weird. 1/2 Healthy Choice Margarita Chicken Steamer and a tuna sandwich, toasted with Benecol. Glass of merot.

EXERCISE: Not much. It's Friday! I watched some taped TV when I got home and just sat on my ass being lazy. It felt good! But, I know I'll pay for it!

Slow-poke Journaling

Now that we are done with camp and getting reorganized here at home, I should soon get back to doing more pages each week.

Day 20 of the Diet; Thursday

WEIGHT: 161.5 I know, I didn't believe it, either. I even got on a second time and it read the same thing.

BREAKFAST: 1/2 WW English muffin with Benecol, canola mayo, and 2 slices of natural ham. Half an apple and skim milk.

SNACK: 2 Ak-Mak crackers with natural peanut butter

LUNCH: 1 slice of pepperjack cheese, natural turkey breast, canola mayo, and Boston lettuce on a WW Deli Flat. 1/2 an apple. A few carrot sticks.

SNACK: 1/2 cup of Sweet Cream Butter popcorn. Then my friend Dottie visited and we had a glass of merlot and a few corn chips with guacamole dip. Dottie's husband, Stan, fell off a roof 12 days ago and has been in an induced coma ever since. He has a broken hip, femur, wrist, ribs, vertebrae and concussion. He's at Dartmouth Hitchcock Hospital several hours away. She's been with him since it happened but came up for two days to take care of her English classes. She's a teacher at the junior high. We chatted for awhile then went out to eat.

SUPPER: Mary's Pizza Parlor. I controlled myself and only had a Sicilian salad with ranch dressing. Usually, I order a large Manicotti so I felt good about this choice. And it was delish. I also had a glass of chianti.

EXERCISE: When we got home from supper, I took a walk up around the Russian Church which took about a half hour and was mostly uphill. Felt good!

An Eyeful of Clouds

Last Saturday at Ocean Park Beach, Maine.

There were so many shades of clouds!

More skies can be seen at SkyWatch Friday.

The Diet Day 19 Wednesday

WEIGHT: 162.5

BREAKFAST: 1/2 of a WW English muffin with chicken salad, a banana, and skim milk.

LUNCH: 1 slice of pepperjack cheese, natural turkey breast, canola mayo, and Boston lettuce on a WW Deli Flat bun. carrot sticks, water.

SUPPER: chicken salad on whole wheat bread eaten at school during Open House. I had a hair appointment at 4:15 and just made it to school on time.

EXERCISE: None! Too pooped after Open House. It was such a waste of time. I had only one parent show up.

Plugging Away at the Diet Day 18 Tuesday

WEIGHT: 163.6

BREAKFAST: bowl of Wheaties with sliced banana. I got that ready before I realized that we were out of milk. Hmmm...what to do? I poured in about a tablespoon of half & half and then filled the bowl with water. It wasn't that good!

SNACK: a cup of Cape Cod Sweet Cream Butter popcorn. So good!

LUNCH: chicken salad in a WW Deli Flat with Boston lettuce. 1/2 cup of the popcorn. Water.

SUPPER: sandwich with natural ham, swiss cheese, canola mayo, dijon mustard on WW bread toasted. I also had one taste of potato salad and coleslaw that came from the grocery store leftover from the weekend. Bleck! The rest went into the garbage.

EXERCISE: I walked 8 times around the block. It was cold! I had to wear my parka, hat, and gloves. We are having a little pre-winter weather. Check out what we woke up to this morning!

What Diet? Day 17 Monday Columbus Day

We closed camp up today. It took us about 4 hours to do everything and then another 3 hours to drive home. But, we are here, now, and ready for another winter in the mountains.

BREAKFAST: Same as the last two days, pretty much: bacon, eggs, 6-grain toast, apple cider, and skim milk.

LUNCH: We stopped at the service plaza in Gray on the turnpike. They have a Starbucks and an Uno. I picked a prepared sandwich of turkey, provolone, lettuce, and mayo on multigrain bread. It was okay but the bread was dry so I tore most of it off and just ate the meat and cheese.

SUPPER: I made a chicken sandwich with the leftovers from the beer-can chicken we had on Saturday night. I mixed it up with canola mayo and had it on a WW Deli Flat, toasted, with Benecol and Boston lettuce.

Then I was still hungry so had about half a small bag of Cape Cod Sweet Cream Butter Popcorn. Good stuff! I also had a couple glasses of merlot.

EXERCISE: I didn't go out for a walk but I moved around a lot closing up camp and then unloading everything when we got home.

Back to a normal schedule tomorrow. Good! Of course, Gary is here with me so that means I'll have to actually make meals!

I'm scared to get on the scale tomorrow! Actually, tomorrow might not be too bad; I've noticed that the weekend takes a couple days to catch up with me. We'll see what happens on Wed. and Thurs.

Here's a picture of our lobster on Sunday night taken by my camper friend, Donna.

Day 18 Sunday of the Diet

BREAKFAST: Same as yesterday: bacon, eggs, toast, apple, milk. I need to point out that normally I'd have some kind of cheese with it by making an open-faced sandwich with everything plus, I'd pour hollandaise sauce over the whole thing. So, even though this weekend's breakfasts aren't the best, they could have been a lot worse.

SNACK: a mixture of cottage cheese mixed with salsa with tortilla chips. 3 Club crackers with roasted red pepper hummus. Glasss of merlot

SUPPER: 1 1/2 lobsters dunked in melted butter. WW macaroni salad with cucumbers, green pepper, onion, natural ham, swiss cheese, canola mayo, Thousand Island dressing, dijon mustard, sunflower seeds. Glass of merlot.

EXERCISE: Pedaled my bike to the beach. Plus did quite a bit around camp to help Gary close up.

Weekend dieting? Day 16 Saturday

BREAKFAST: 2 pieces of maple-flavored bacon, 2 fried eggs over easy, and 2 pieces of 6-grain Italian bread toasted, 1 apple, 1 glass of skim milk. This is a normal breakfast for us at camp. No wonder I gained weight this summer!

SUPPER: Breakfast was late so no lunch. Instead, we had an early supper with friends Don and Mich and Donna and Ralph because we were eating outside and we wanted to get done before it got too dark.

Beer-can chicken. I had a breast and I made a sandwich with it on that 6-grain Italian bread with butter. I also had potatoes that were cooked on the grill in tin foil, sliced with onions and butter. Plus, a salad with Thousand Island dressing. 1 shrimp cocktail (I planned on having more but they weren't quite thawed out when I had the first and then was too full after eating.) 3 glasses of merlot throughout the evening from 5-11.

We sat around the campfire since it got really cool, like in the 30s!

EXERCISE: I biked to the beach which is about a mile and a half away. Going there didn't take much energy since the wind was on my back, but returning was tough because of a strong head wind. I also took a detour to the farm stand for fresh veggies.





Other than that, just the normal cleaning and doing laundry, etc.

Sort of Dieting Day 15 Friday

WEIGHT: 163.7 Maybe 2 hamburgers last night wasn't such a good idea!

BREAKFAST: 1 WW English muffin with Benecol and peanut butter and sliced banana. Water (I ran out of milk. Hate that!)

LUNCH: salad with a little rnch dressing. Turkey and cheese wrap with 1 pkg mayo on white tortilla. I ate a few bites then just took the meat and cheese out and ate it without the wrap. There was also a cupcake but I had no trouble giving that away. I was happy to see the salad instead of chips!

SUPPER: We went to Kerryman's (again) and I ordered scallops with baked potato and corn and cole slaw. I put one small container of butter on the potato and another on the corn. I also put about a tsp. of sour cream on the potato. It was a small potato and I didn't even eat the whole thing. I did eat all the scallops, though, and they were delicious! Oh, and I dunked them in tartar sauce. 2 glasses or merlot, too.

EXERCISE: I parked about a quarter of a mile from the school where our workshops were held and it was uphill so I got a little walk this morning. Other than that, not much exercise, I'm afraid. I should go out for a walk right now, but it has started to rain and I'm pooped!

Beginning Week 3 of the Diet: Day 15 Thursday

WEIGHT: 163.4 The right direction!

BREAKFAST: 1 WW English muffin with Benecol, a little mayo, 1 slice of pepperjack cheese, and turkey breast. Glass of skim milk.

VITAMINS: Centrum Silver, fish oil, calcium, Vitamin C, and vitamin D

SNACK: cup of Smartfood popcorn.

LUNCH: Chicken salad on WW Deli Flat. A few nuts. 2 golden cherry tomatoes

SUPPER: 2 hamburgers. I used ground chuck and put sauteed onions and peppers, mayo, horseradish sauce, Howard's Hot Pepper Relish, and crunchy Boston lettuce on it. I used the WW Deli flats for my bun.

EXERCISE: I walked for half an hour. I also changed my bed and did some laundry which is in the cellar so I ran up and down the stairs quite a few times.

THOUGHTS: No school tomorrow. Teachers have workshops at White Mountain Regional High School. I signed up for a photography one. They supply the lunch which will be a turkey wrap using a white tortilla, chips, and a cookie. I'll give my chips away and don't like sweets so the cookie isn't a problem.

Then I'll head to camp for the long Columbus Day weekend. We have company coming so eating will be whatever. I'm going to TRY to make wise choices but who knows!

On Monday we have to close camp up for the winter then Gary will be coming home creating another challenge to eat well because he works hard and needs a big meal so I'll actually have to start cooking again. It's a whole new mindset.

Mt. Forist in Her Autumn Gown

Not much of a sky today but even the gray clouds couldn't be too gloomy with all that brightness.

The foliage is just about past peak here in northern NH. but is still beautiful.

BTW, I live right at the base of this sheer mountain and it's in my face all day!

More skies can be seen at SkyWatch Friday.

Two Weeks into the Diet: Day 14 Wednesday

WEIGHT: 163.9 Better!

BREAKFAST: 1 WW English muffin with Benecol and natural peanut butter, 1/2 apple, and a glass of skim milk

SNACK: a cup of Smartfood popcorn

LUNCH: turkey breast on a WW Deli Flat with roasted red pepper, canola mayo, and spicy brown mustard. Also half an apple and water.

SUPPER: Yummy pizza

I started with a whole wheat pita and spread about 1/2 a cup of Alfredo sauce on it and some pieces of the leftover heirloom tomato from last night.

Then some sliced zucchini

Chopped jalapeno pepper

Chopped green pepper

Leftover chicken and just a few pieces of chopped onion

Shredded cheese. I only had 4-cheese Mexican.

I baked it at 450 for 8 minutes.

Delish!

Diet food? Well, somewhat! Plus, I needed to use up all the leftovers.

EXERCISE: Walked two miles. I also hauled an old trunk up out of the cellar and cleaned it and polished it to use as a coffee table in the living room.

The Diet Day 13: Tuesday

WEIGHT: 165.1 Yes, the weekend really caught up to me! But, I know from past experience that dieting is not linear and that it has its ups and downs so I'm not discouraged.

BREAKFAST: Bowl of Honey Bunches of Oats and Wheaties with sliced banana and skim milk.

LUNCH: Low-sodium turkey breast (I'm not sure why I bought the low-sodium one because I ended up putting celery salt on it!) on WW Deli Flat with 1 tbls. canola mayo and 1/2 tsp. horseradish sauce and roasted red peppers. 1 apple. Water.

SUPPER: 1 WW English muffin, toasted and covered with Benecol, 2 thick slices of an heirloom tomato, and chicken salad mixed with about a tablespoon of canola mayo and 1/2 tsp. of horseradish sauce (gives it a nice zip!). Small glass of skim milk.

SNACK: a cup of Smartfood popcorn

EXERCISE: After school I walked around Peninsula Park for about 45 minutes. So beautiful! Then tonight I went around the block 8 times=2 miles.

L=Lobster for ABC Wednesday

"Oooh, Grampy, can I pet it?"

She was a bit scared of it but game!

To see more L things go to ABC Wednesday.

Back to Better Dieting...Day 12: Monday

WEIGHT: 163.9 The weekend cost me a pound. Not too bad.

BREAKFAST: bowl of Honey Bunches of Oats with sliced banana and skim milk. I've got one more bowl of this cereal left and I'll be glad when it's done because it's sweeter than I like.

SNACK: a cup of Smartfood popcorn

LUNCH: leftover spaghetti from last week made with chicken and tons of veggies.

SUPPER: Quesadilla: I sprinkled EVOO in my frying pan then put a whole grain tortilla in. I layered 1 slice pepperjack cheese, slices of chicken breast from the roasted chicken I bought at the IGA today, green peppers, jalapeno peppers, roasted red peppers (Just in case you didn't notice, I like peppers of all kinds!), a few little pieces of onion, and shredded Mexican cheese.

Then I put another tortilla on top and let it cook, covered, on medium heat for about 7-10 minutes. To turn it over, I put a paper plate on it and inverted the whole pan then slid the quesadilla back into the pan to cook the other side, covered, until everything was all melty, probably 5 more minutes. I used a pizza cutter to divide it into four pieces and topped each with salsa and 1 teaspoon of sour cream (I should point out that normally I would have used about 2 tablespoons of sour cream on each piece!).

For a drink I had a large glass of skim milk.





Yummy









EXERCISE: I took a walk through the community garden this afternoon taking pictures because it was just so beautiful out.



Tonight, I walked around the block 6 times for a total of about a mile and a half.

Dieting on...Day 11: Sunday

BREAKFAST: 2 slices of WW toast with Benecol and tuna salad on top. I used a whole can of tuna. Have you noticed how small the cans have gotten lately? I mixed in about a table spoon of canola mayo and 1/2 teaspoon chopped red onion. To drink I had apple cider. I ate about 8:30.

I'll be adding more as the day goes on...

LUNCH: 4 pm. I stopped at McDonald's in South Paris and had 3 filets. Yes, that's right 3! BUT, I took the top bun and part of the bottom bun off so it really was not that much. I sat in the parking lot reading a whole chapter in my book Shangai Girls. The sun was just coming out after a rainy weekend and it was so peaceful.

SUPPER: Triscuits with whipped cream cheese. Not the best choice but I'm weak! I do so much better during the week; weekends are tough!

EXERCISE: Not much today. I walked to the office at camp and I went once around the block tonight. I wanted to watch The Amazing Race.

September Turns into October

The plaid paper on the right was part of a letter from my sister, Sally.

I picked the lacy leaf up off the ground the last time I was golfing and knew I'd find a place for it eventually.

The Vitamin Water was given to me by a student especially for my journal.

The kids holding hands came in the mail. I think it was some charity.

"Dear Linda" was on a letter from my friend, Anne, in Florida as was the little owl.

Weekend Dieting...Day 10: Saturday

BREAKFAST: We went to Michelle's Garden Cafe around 11 o'clock and I had an omelette with ham, green peppers, cheddar cheese, and hollandaise. Surprisingly, I couldn't finish it! That's a first! Maybe my tummy is shrinking?

I'll continue updating as the day goes on...

LUNCH: 3:30 pm. Glass of merlot

SNACK: Went next door to visit with Ralph and Donna and I had another glass of merlot.

SUPPER: 3 slices of WW bread with cheddar cheese and sliced tomatoes on top then broiled. This is one of our all-time favorites when we have extra tomatoes. One of Gary's fishing buddies, Skeeter, has a garden and gave us a bunch.

DESSERT: another glass of merlot

EXERCISE: I walked three times around the campground for a total of 1.8 miles.

Still Dieting...mostly! Day 9 Friday

WEIGHT: 163.0

BREAKFAST: WW English muffin with tuna salad, 1/2 banana, glass of skim milk

SNACK: cup of Smartfood popcorn

LUNCH: 1/2 WW pita with tuna salad and lettuce. (It was the end of the week and that's all I had left). 1 carrot stick that Shawn brought in from his garden. 1/2 cup popcorn

SUPPER: Kerryman's Pub. 1 glass merlot, 1 cup of seafood chowder (shrimp, scallops, haddock, and lobster!), 1 cheeseburger with lettuce, tomatoes, and mayo (Yes, I could have done better but I was just hankering for one!) and a big glass of water

EXERCISE: Well, that hasn't happened yet but I have high hopes of walking around the campground....

And I did! I walked around twice for over a mile. I measured it once and it's .6 of a mile around.

A Week into the Diet: Day 8: Thursday

BEGINNING WEIGHT: 167
TODAY'S WEIGHT: 163.5

I'm happy with that especially after the poor choices last weekend.

BREAKFAST: WW English muffin with natural peanut butter and sliced banana and a glass of skim milk

SNACK: small handful of mixed nuts

LUNCH: tuna salad made with about a tablespoon of canola mayo and chopped red onions on a WW Deli Flat with romaine lettuce that I got from the farm stand last weekend. This is the same lettuce I've used all week.

SUPPER: I made another WW pita pizza using all kinds of leftovers: Alfredo sauce, 1 slice of pepperjack cheese, sliced tomatoes, chicken (It's finally all gone!), red onion, two kinds of red peppers (bell and cherry), broccoli, and parmesan cheese. (So, so good! I could have eaten two but controlled myself.) Plus a glass of skim milk.

EXERCISE: 8 times around the block for about 2 miles. A half mile of it was uphill.

Well, I did really well all week but am heading to camp after school tomorrow and who knows what will happen there. Gary already told me that we're going out to eat when I get there.

SkyWatch Friday: Late September Morning

There are lots more wonderful skies at SkyWatch Friday.