Huge Outboard Motors

Here I am next to these huge outboard motors we saw outside the Spokane Boat Show last month. Even one of these motors is bigger than me, but this boat has two! Can you believe it? The boat isn't even that big! It's not even a ski boat, but a fishing boat. I just had to record how incredulous I felt at seeing such a thing. It's not even as if Spokane is close to the ocean, either, just lakes.

I weighed in at 155.0 this morning, which means I lost .6 pounds yesterday. I did walk my mile yesterday, in the park with Oreo. Yeah, the weight loss is slowing down, so I'm going to try a bit harder today. I want to be back in my work clothes before I go to a conference in late May. Maybe I'll even buy a new outfit for it, but I will not shop for clothes until I am at my goal weight of 145 - 149.9 pounds.

147.8 Out-Smiled by a Dog!

I lost .6 pounds yesterday.  I walked the dogs 1.3 miles in the park. Now that we have our new Garmin Montana 650T GPS for backpacking, we know our usual daily walking route is 1.3 miles.



Here is what I ate yesterday and lost .6 pounds, along with walking 1.3 miles:

Small bowl of Special K and organic soy milk
1/2 a raspberry walnut chocolate bar from REI
1/3 of an apple
1/4 cup peanut M&Ms
Chili Dip
3 eggs scrambled in a pat of butter with half an onion, sauteed
1/2 cup peanut M&Ms
10 corn tortilla chips

Raffle is better at smiling for the camera than I am! Look how smug he is, too, kind of chuckling as the sun makes me make that squinchy face. Can you guess what breed of dog Raffle is?  It is not a common breed here in Washington State, let me just warn you. Well, he is a mutt, but can you guess what breeds contributed to him?

147.8 Some Clothes Better Stay on the Rack

I saw this adorable (top? dress?) while we shopped for camping walkie talkies last night at Wal-mart. I really love the leopard print on this fabric, but it is way too young for me (I'm 49). So, I am happy with a photo posted on my blog to say, "Look! Isn't this adorable? Aren't you glad I didn't try it on and take a picture?" LOL!

Maybe if I were single... But probably not even then.

I lost .6 pounds yesterday. I took my Kindle with me on my morning walk, and had it read to me through the "text to speech" function. That worked great, and kept me from getting bored long enough to walk three miles and tire my 10-year-old border-collie-mix dog.

That's right: the dog got tired before I did!

Here is what I ate yesterday and lost .6 pounds, along with a three-mile walk:

Special K, blueberries, and organic soy milk
10 corn tortilla chips
1/4 cup peanut M&Ms
1 El Monterey beef and green chili burrito with salsa
10 corn tortilla chips
Hamburger patty, BBQ sauce, raw baby carrots
1/4 cup dark chocolate chips
1 Nature Valley sweet and salty nut bar

147.8 Weird Jupiter Cloud Formation Spokane

I photographed this weird cloud formation that kind of looks like Planet Jupiter's atmosphere at about 8:15 last evening, July 22, 2012, on our walk in Spokane Valley, WA. Temperature was about 85F with little wind or humidity. Spokane gets some of the most beautiful clouds I have ever seen.

I have 49,912 words written on my book now. 20,088 to go. I'm in the home stretch! It is a non-fiction book. That is all I can say, before it is published. Well, and it is not about weight loss.

I lost .6 pounds yesterday. For exercise, I walked twice: a mile in the heat of the afternoon with both dogs, and a mile in the cooler evening with me walking one dog and Scott walking the other dog. I also did about 30 minutes of housework, including vacuuming and going up and down basement steps to get laundry. Here is what I ate:

Small bowl of Special K with blueberries and organic soy milk
Maple bar at church fellowship
El Monterey bean and cheese burrito with salsa
1 serving of peanut M&Ms (1/4 cup)
Leftover baked chicken, onions, carrots, and broccoli
Sliced Gala apple candied with 2 tablespoons chunky peanut butter and 36 dark chocolate chips
Small handful of dark chocolate chips

148.4 I like little surprises, not big

OK, as requested, here is a picture of my birthday cake. There wasn't any cake in it, but it was scrumptious! I somehow managed to lose half a pound yesterday -- even after eating three pieces of this Reese's Peanut Butter Cup ice cream cake! I think it is because there is no flour in it. I didn't eat all the chocolate icing. Believe it or not, that was just too rich to eat. The peanut butter cups inside the ice cream sure tasted good, though!

Scott surprised me with this cake Sunday morning before church. I don't usually like surprises. I usually want to be able to look forward to it. I loved this surprise, though. I guess I like little surprises, not big ones. I want to help pick where we go on vacation, but I don't mind if you surprise me with an outfit to wear there.

He says he got this at Winco. It came in a box that looked like a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup candy wrapper.

I walked my dog a mile yesterday. Here is what I ate and lost .6 pounds:

Small bowl of Special K and organic soy milk
2 sliced Fuji apples, each candied with 4 tablespoons chunky peanut butter and 36 dark chocolate chips
Baked chicken and carrots
1/4 of a Costco combo pizza
1/4 of a 60 ounce Reese's Peanut Butter Cup ice cream cake

143.8 Walked 5 Miles, Lost .6 Pounds

Somehow, when I heard one of the teachers had a bat stool, this is not how I imagined it. This is a shop teacher's stool, of course. And wow, shop class is very different today from when I was in school. They have sophisticated laser guided cutting instruments. It is all very high tech. I took this picture weeks ago with my phone and only just now rediscovered it.

The picture underneath was one of the beautiful views on my 5 mile walk home in the rain yesterday. I didn't get tired, but I did get soaked. I was not even thinking it might rain, when I said my only concern was boredom. I am prepared with bus fare today, just in case.

I lost .6 pounds yesterday, with my 5 mile walk. Here is what I ate:

Small bowl of Special K, strawberries and organic soy milk
Small banana dipped in a tablespoon of Hershey's Special Dark chocolate syrup

Raw carrot sticks
2 tablespoons Parmesan spinach dip

Another small banana
One bean burrito
4 tablespoons salsa
Small apple
2 tablespoons peanut butter
Small bowl of cheddar popcorn

155.6 Keep Trim Day 1 of 6

Here is a picture of the Baked chicken, onion and carrots I eat so often. It is one of the easiest recipes I have ever made:

I buy everything at Costco. I get the chicken boneless and skinless in one pound packages, 6 to a bundle. I like the breasts the best, but the thighs work just as well. I buy the big bag of baby carrots, already skinned.

I pour a bunch of baby carrots into the bottom of a covered casserole, rinse and dump the chicken on top and cover it with sliced onion. I bake it covered for an hour at 400F and voila! The chicken comes out tender and moist. The vegetables and the chicken each flavor the other. [Edited later to add: I like it even better with Brussels sprouts added in with the carrots on the bottom.]

We walked the dogs two miles in the park yesterday, in the falling snow. It didn't stick. I lost .6 pounds yesterday.

I am taking 6 keep trim days around all the Valentine's Day activities on my calendar. I am going to a ladies' luncheon today at a nursing home, through one of my churches. I am wearing two hand me down clothing items from before Mom got down to size 6: the size medium purple velour sweater and the size 10 silver linen slacks.

Here is all I ate yesterday and lost .6 pounds:

Small bowl of Special K, blueberries and soy milk
Leftover baked chicken, onion and carrots
Hamburger patty, 1 tablespoon BBQ sauce, steamed broccoli, cauliflower and carrots

157.2 Diet Day 6 of 8 or 10

Most of losing weight is cooking from scratch instead of eating prepared meals loaded with sodium. (Just as you told me, Mom.) Scott took this picture of me cooking yesterday. I was making scrambled eggs with ham and veggies for our lunch after church. I put a few teaspoons of garlic salt in the eggs before I cooked them, and boy did they taste good!

There might be 8 or 10 diet days in this cycle. It depends if I get called in to substitute teach on Thursday or not. If I don't, I will attend a Ladies' Valentine Luncheon at one of our churches. I will put myself on keep trim eating instead of the diet, if I attend.

We confirmed yesterday that the other church's evening couples Valentine Banquet is this coming Saturday night at 6 pm. I am so excited! I plan on wearing these fawn colored corduroy pants with the purple velour top that has the lace waist and sleeves. I posted a picture of me in it at McDonald's a few days ago.

We walked the dogs two miles in the park yesterday. Here is what I ate and lost .6 pounds:

Small bowl of Special K, blueberries and organic soy milk
3 scrambled eggs with ham, mushrooms and red peppers
Salmon patty, steamed broccoli, cauliflower and carrots

171.4 Diet Day 14 of 14

No fair! I am finally off my weight loss plateau, but this is the last diet day for this cycle and I only lost .6 pounds yesterday.

This is a picture Scott took of me just now, wearing one of my new size medium shirts. I am substitute teaching computer assisted drafting for a half day today. I am wearing this burgundy shirt with light grey corduroy pants. I just got called to finish the day in the drama class, too!

It snowed again last night and everything is dusted in white. It is very pretty. It should not affect the roads for driving, not enough for that.

Tomorrow is the last day of school before Christmas break starts next week! Two weeks of carefree living without worrying if there might be a call at 5:30 am to come in to work!

We have decided to plan on baking our Christmas cookies on Saturday, in case I get called in to work tomorrow. I am in a recital Sunday evening at the smaller of the two churches we belong to right now. Everyone is bringing Christmas cookies to share with the members of our sister church, who are coming to see our Christmas recital.

Here is what I ate yesterday and finally lost .6 pounds after a three-day weight loss plateau:

1 cup Special K, 1 cup strawberries, 1 cup soy milk, black unsweetened coffee

Cheat: December 14 chocolate from my Advent calendar

3 cups of steamed broccoli with 1/2 cup grated cheese melted over it in the microwave for 25 seconds, Diet Coke

Cheats: Samples at Costco: Applet, cube of Irish cheese, half a mozzarella stick, bite of taquito

Salmon patty, 8 steamed Brussels sprouts, black cherry seltzer water

172.8 Lost .6 Pounds in One Day

Back down to 172.8! Yay, I lost .6 pounds yesterday! Now that this latest sodium crisis is over, I want to lose down to 169 before this diet period is over! I really should be at 169 after five more days on the diet. It would be great to add a 169 photo to my photo gallery for December!

I walked two miles yesterday, in two separate walks. The dogs were confused at first when I took them out a second time, but they soon became elated. I let one chase a squirrel in the park. It was the most excitement he had seen in months. I am also continuing to get on the stair step exercise machine whenever I get my urges to run in the house. For those who don't know me, these urges come when I get excited about something I have just heard, read, written or said.

I did some more activity around the house, too. We put up our Christmas tree and decorated it. We didn't put the lights on it. Scott couldn't help at all with his broken right arm and the lights were more of a challenge than I wanted to take on. But the tree is assembled and hung with all our unique ornaments from friends and loved ones. We are really glad we put it up. Getting up and out of my chair every hour to do something around the house is really helping me to build exercise into my day without it seeming like exercise.

Here is what I ate yesterday and lost .6 pounds in one day:

Small bowl of Special K, strawberries and organic soy milk, black unsweetened coffee

December 9 chocolate off my Advent calendar

Hamburger patty, 2 tablespoons BBQ sauce, 2 cups steamed broccoli, Diet Coke

Half a portion of leftover Chicken and Onion with carrots too, 7 steamed Brussels sprouts

Lots of water!

I have decided to drink water in the evenings, instead of caffeine-free diet soda or seltzer water. We'll see how well I do with that. It should be cheaper, in addition to being healthier. What decided me was when I realized my berry seltzer water smells like cough syrup. Nauseating!

174.4 Lost .6 Pounds Cause I Packed a Snack

I lost .6 pounds yesterday! We had to wait through our usual dinner time at the hospital after the x-rays were taken and before our consultation with the doctor. I was so glad I thought to bring the little baggie of carrots I had packed for my lunch. It kept both of us from buying high-calorie snacks from the vending machines. I made us dinner when we got home and we ate at 8pm, 3 hours later than we usually eat.


 It was an eventful day. Scott finally agreed to go see a doctor about his jammed elbow. The x-rays showed a chip fracture. There is really nothing they can do about it, but knowing it is a fracture is reinforcing for him that he needs to take it easy on that arm. The doctor prescribed 800mg Ibuprofen every 8 hours, to take down the inflammation. He says Scott can take that on top of the acetaminophen he is taking for pain.

I walked a mile in the halls during the regular drama teacher's preparation period. Here is what I ate yesterday and lost .6 pounds:

Small bowl of Special K, strawberries and organic soy milk, black unsweetened coffee

1 cup raw carrots, 2 tablespoons Parmesan spinach dip, Diet Coke

1 cup raw carrots as a snack while held up in the hospital waiting room

1/3 pound hamburger patty, 2 cups steamed broccoli, black cherry seltzer (0 sodium / 0 calories)

I forgot to eat the chocolate from my Advent calendar yesterday, but I ate it this morning!

179.4 Diet Day 14 of 14

Yay! I lost .6 pounds yesterday, and I am back under 180! I even cheated on my diet and ate one of Scott's pizza bite snacks. Go figure. I did walk my mile yesterday, even though it was only 17 F outside. I probably looked like a dork in my orange camouflage snow pants and grey snow coat, but I was warm.

The most awesome thing happened yesterday after some students offered me some candy. I declined, explaining "I'm on a diet." This really skinny girl exclaimed, "I could never be on a diet! It sounds so awful!" I told her, "You're not fat, so you don't need to diet." She said, "But you're not fat, either." (!) I think she really meant it. I don't think she was just being nice. Yay! I am not fat anymore!

Here is what I ate yesterday and still managed to lose .6 pounds:

1 cup Special K, 1 cup strawberries, 1 cup soy milk, black unsweetened coffee
1 salmon patty, 2 cups steamed broccoli, Diet Dr Pepper
1 Pappalo's Pizza Snack (cheat, 38 calories)
2 small hamburger patties, 2 cups steamed carrot sticks, unsweetened caffeine-free tea

179.2 Diet Day 11 of 14

I lost .6 pounds yesterday, because today I weigh 179.2! I did walk my mile. We also shopped at Costco, which added a bit more walking. I did not eat any samples.

I forgot to add my Costco samples to what I ate the last time we went: a bite of butterscotch Almond Rocha Cookie which was heavenly, and a bite of green bean casserole which I immediately wished I had not taken. I used to like green bean casserole, but it just tasted like dirt to me. My diet is changing my taste buds and I guess I no longer like cream of mushroom soup, which is just fine by me. It is full of empty calories.

Here is what I ate yesterday and still lost .6 pounds:

1 cup Special K, 1 cup strawberries, 1 cup soy milk, black unsweetened coffee
1 cup raw carrot sticks, 1/2 cup parmesan spinach dip, Diet Dr Pepper
1 salmon patty, 1 cup sauteed mushrooms, caffeine-free diet soda

181.2 Day 6 of 14 Diet Days

I weigh 181.2 now, so yesterday I lost .6 pounds. I am still sick and it is below freezing outside, so I did not walk my mile yesterday. Again I put in a few minutes here and there on our stair step exercise machine. I feel much better today, so I think tomorrow I will go outside once more.

The food holidays are coming up. For each holiday I have a planned cheat on my diet:

Thanksgiving we have plans to go to our new friend's mom's for dinner. That is good because we won't have any leftovers at our house to tempt me. I will be on keep trim eating, so my plan is just to have one dinner plate of food and then stop eating. I may leave a little empty space on my dinner plate if they have pumpkin or apple pie for dessert!

It's not Christmas for me without sugar cookies. Scott loves them as well and even enjoys making them. I will be on keep-trim eating and not on the weight-loss diet plan December 16 through December 29. My plan is to make cookies December 16 and limit myself to three a day, as desserts to diet meals. I will attend all the church potlucks and just stick to one dinner plate of food. My goal during this time is not to lose weight, but just to maintain, to not gain.

Here is what I ate yesterday and still managed to lose .6 pounds:

1 cup Special K, 1 cup strawberries, 1 cup soy milk, black unsweetened coffee
Diet Ham Salad, Diet Coke
2 hamburger patties, 2 tablespoons BBQ sauce, 2 cups steamed broccoli, caffeine-free diet soda

Last Day of Keep Trim Eating

Today I weigh 185.2. I lost .6 pounds yesterday on keep trim eating. I walked two thirds of a mile. I tried the strategy of eating as I would on the diet and adding desserts. It worked! Here is what I ate yesterday:

1 and 1/2 cups Special K, 1 cup soy milk, black unsweetened coffee

1 cup carrots, 1/2 cup spinach / garlic / parmesan dip, Diet Coke, 1 fun size Tootsie Roll

1 Hostess fruit pie, apple

7 meatballs, 1 cup sauteed mushrooms, caffeine-free diet soda

I substituted at one of the high schools yesterday, and a kid gave me the Tootsie Roll. He offered. I never would have asked a kid to share his Halloween candy with me.
--------------------------------------------------------------

Guide to Thousands of Unlisted Job Openings in the US!

Do you know anyone who is over 40 and has a college degree, but no job? I wrote this book for them. Tell them about it, or better yet, buy them a copy. Turnover is high in these jobs, so there are almost always openings. With this guide, a substitute can do the job so well they actually like it. I do.

I hope you will at least "look inside" the high school substitute teacher's guide I wrote. The free book sample you get by "looking inside" tells you not only how to get a job as a substitute teacher, but also my qualifications to write the book: my education and detailed substitute teaching work history (since 1989).

This book is available in paperback, in Kindle mobi format at Amazon, in Nook format at Barnes and Noble, and in any other format you could possibly need through Smashwords.

185.8 Day 13 of 14 Keep Trim Eating

My weight is back down to 185.8 today, which means I lost .6 pounds yesterday on keep trim eating. I am not even sure how, except that I did walk my mile yesterday. Here is all I ate:

2 cups Special K, 1 cup soy milk, black unsweetened coffee

Half a dinner plate of pizza, Diet Coke

2 cheeseburgers complete with bun, American cheese and BBQ sauce, caffeine-free diet soda

My new 34 x 30 jeans are a tiny bit loose under my hips, but not enough yet that I can wear them to substitute teaching assignments. I had them on this morning and I was tempted to wear them, just because I could get them on and they were semi comfortable. I wanted to celebrate the accomplishment. But they are too tight to be appropriate for teacher wear. In another week they won't be, if I stick to the program!

187.2 Stayed on Diet when Sick

I weigh 187.2 today. It is tempting to go off my diet when I don't feel well. I was all ready to go in to a substitute teaching assignment this morning when my bowels suddenly loosened and started cramping.

I cancelled the assignment. I can't be confined to a classroom when I need to be running to the toilet twice an hour. I don't really know what made me sick. I guess it might be a remnant of the cold virus I had week before last.

I read up about diarrhea on the Mayo clinic website, though. They just say drink lots of clear fluids and avoid caffeine, high fiber foods, fat, dairy, and spices. So for me today, no coffee, Diet Coke or carrots, but other than that my diet is fine.

I lost .6 pounds yesterday. I walked half a mile. I ate:

1 cup Special K with dried berries, 1 cup soy milk, 1/3 of a banana, black unsweetened coffee

2 fried hamburger patties, 2 tablespoons BBQ sauce, 1 cup steamed carrots, Diet Coke

7 meatballs, 5 chunks of pineapple canned in juice, 1 cup steamed carrots, caffeine-free diet soda

Size Medium Pajamas!

This post is actually for Sunday, October 16, 2011. I weigh 188.8 today! I lost .6 pounds yesterday. It is not 100% about exercise, because I walked three miles yesterday - extra far. This was only because I locked my purse in the truck, at Costco. We only have the one vehicle, so I walked 1.5 miles home and Scott and the dogs walked 1.5 miles with me, back to our truck.

I bought myself two sets of size medium pajamas at Costco. You have to get them when they first have them, because they sell out really quickly. I had in mind I would save them for when they fit. Guess what! I am wearing the black and blue pair right now! They are tight in the hips and snug everywhere else, but I can wear them! I look forward to feeling them get looser on me every day, just like my formerly skinny jeans that are now comfortably baggy.

Embrazened by the pajamas fitting, I tried on my St Patrick's Day dress. The shirt just arrived in today's mail. As you can see in this picture, I can get into the dress, too! It is a size 12W. There are waist ties, so as I slim down I can make it look better on me. But wow, I should be able to wear it to church at Christmas time, maybe even for my solo November 13!

Here is what I ate yesterday and still lost .6 pounds:

Usual breakfast: 1 cup Special K, 1 cup cut-up strawberries, 1 cup soy milk, black unsweetened coffee

Common lunch: 1 cup raw carrot sticks dipped in 1/2 cup parmesan/spinach dip from the deli section at Costco, Diet Coke

New Dinner: Baked chicken and onion, steamed broccoli, caffeine-free diet soda

191.8 Pounds, lost .6 yesterday

Today I weigh 191.8! I lost .6 pounds yesterday. I was still not back to walking outside in the weather, but today I substitute taught, so I am officially over my cold and back out into the world again.

Here is what I ate yesterday and still managed to lose .6 pounds without exercise:

Small bowl of Special K, strawberries and organic soy milk with black unsweetened coffee

Raw carrot sticks dipped in 2 tablespoons Parmesan spinach dip, Diet Coke

Dinner at Qdoba Mexican Grill on the way home from the shooting range: Naked Ancho BBQ pulled pork burrito

(6 ounces pulled pork, 1/2 cup white rice, 1/2 cup black beans, 3 tablespoons chocolate BBQ sauce, 1/2 cup tomato salsa, 1/2 cup corn salsa)

We went to that church yesterday that has the donuts out for an hour before the service starts. They smelled so yummy! I resisted them by insisting we not show up till the last 15 minutes of the fellowship time and then concentrating on the conversation instead of the food. I didn't even have coffee there. They invited us to stay for a potluck lunch again, but I made my excuses and got out of there before those donuts did me in.

The next time they have a church potluck I should be on keep trim eating. I will also make sure I bring something healthy to eat. I also plan to follow Dr Tarnower's advice and taste everything, but eat very little of anything.

192.4 pounds, lost .6 pounds yesterday

I weigh 192.4 today. I lost .6 pounds yesterday on my first day back to the diet after 14 days of keep trim eating. The first three days usually are lighter weight-loss days, until I go into ketosis. After three days I usually lose a pound a day.

I thought I was over my cold, but I sneezed at the first garage sale yesterday. We bought a punching bag for $5 and I tried it out once we got home and hung it in the garage. I hadn't ever punched a bag before. It is kind of fun. That and walking to the restroom inside a grocery store were the extent of my exercise yesterday, though.

Here is what I ate on my first day back on the diet yesterday:

Usual breakfast of 1 cup Special K, 1 cup soy milk, 1/2 cup strawberries, black unsweetened coffee

Lunch of 7 Kirkland Italian style beef meatballs with 2 tablespoons pineapple habanero sauce and 1 cup steamed broccoli with Diet Coke

Dinner of two hamburger patties topped with 2 tablespoons BBQ sauce and 2 cups steamed carrots, caffeine-free diet soda
--------------------------------------------------------------

Guide to Thousands of Unlisted Job Openings in the US!

Do you know anyone who is over 40 and has a college degree, but no job? I wrote this book for them. Tell them about it, or better yet, buy them a copy. Turnover is high in these jobs, so there are almost always openings. With this guide, a substitute can do the job so well they actually like it. I do.

I hope you will at least "look inside" the high school substitute teacher's guide I wrote. The free book sample you get by "looking inside" tells you not only how to get a job as a substitute teacher, but also my qualifications to write the book: my education and detailed substitute teaching work history (since 1989).

This book is available in paperback, in Kindle mobi format at Amazon, in Nook format at Barnes and Noble, and in any other format you could possibly need through Smashwords.