Thank Goodness for 0 Calories....

This tea helps when I need spicy......good bye coke zero

This tea helps when I want to relax and look at something pretty...it's gorgeous!

Sis told me about Sobe....the Fugi Apple Pear is my favorite...yum!

Not to replace drinking good ole plain water...

These are very flavorful drinks and 0 calories!!

Three Berry Spinach Salad....

Dick and I have this salad at least twice a week if not more..

Great with grilled chicken if you'd like.

For each salad I add:

2 cups fresh organic baby spinach

1/2 cup sliced strawberries

1/4 cup blueberries

1/4 cup blackberries

1/8 cup crumbled feta or goat's cheese

1/8 cup pecans or slivered toasted almonds

or grate fresh Parmesan cheese over the assembled salad

~Dressing~

Ken's Lite Raspberry Pecan Vinaigrette

or any dressing you like.

YUM!

I've been fighting....

When my doctor told me my blood test revealed I had little or no vitamin D left in my system and then I saw the ex-ray of my back with the start of osteoporosis in it....I was really alarmed.


Why oh why had I taken this all for granted? Was it too late for me? Was I going to turn into my little old haunched over grandmother? Oh dear, what a sinking feeling I had sitting there in my doctor's office staring at the pamphlet on Osteoporosis that had been handed to me. I decided right then and there in that examining room that I was going to fight with every ounce of my being to stop the advance of this disease....to do whatever it takes!

Gi-Gi, my doctor got me started on 50,000 units of vitamin D a week for 10 weeks....one pill, that's it. It's been over ten weeks now since starting the vitamin D treatment and I feel so much better plus a patch of psoriasis on my elbow has all but cleared up.

I started with a trainer at the gym and told her to push me hard.....here are some things I'm been doing.

• Added more protein to my diet
• Added more calcium rich foods
• Stopped the negative talk about myself ( I'm good enough!)
• Continued weight bearing exercises like walking
• Using circuit training ( it really works!!..I'll talk more about this later)
• Strengthening my "core" with weight bearing, free exercise and Pilate's
• Pushing my 57 year old self farther than I ever thought possible!

I use the triple threat shown below during my circuit training.... I started out with the big ball and now I'm using a 8lb medicine ball which makes it a little harder. Do this exercise and you WILL see results! I promise!




When my trainer Jill first had me do the plank (in the picture at the top) I was used to doing them from Pilate's...we held them oh ... 10 seconds or so...no biggy. Jill told me to hold it 30 seconds..."seriously??", I screeched, not believing what I just heard her say. After Jill started having me hold them 60 seconds, I googled it, I KNEW this had to be abuse...but no....2 minutes was the average hold. Never should have told her that one! ;-) Now I'm up to a minute and a half!

Bottom line...

I'm hanging in there doing everything I can do

to be the best I can be.

It's a good fight to be in!

No regrets!




Note: My daughter posted some really cute pictures

of the girls on her blog check it out!

American Honey.....

Love to watch the Country Music Awards...

This song, American Honey really rings true with me

I wanna go back sometimes~~~

or at least get that feeling

Been thinking about that a lot lately...

Then I heard this song....

~~guess I'm not alone~~

A wonderful Easter!

1 st annual family Easter Egg Hunt...everyone wins!

My precious grand baby's...I love them so!

On the way home from Easter Services Leah wanted to ride with Pop and me....

she sang at the top of her 4 year old lungs...

He's Alive!!! He's Alive!! Jesus is alive!! over and over....

Priceless, but so true!

Chobani For Your Bones

0% non-fat, rich and creamy Greek yogurt....double the protein

I'm in l-o-v-e!

The fruit is on the bottom....the instructions say don't stir,

just scoop down to the fruit to keep the creamy texture

For coupons try this Chobani site

I had a blood test a couple of weeks ago that gave me a scare....

There was no Vitamin D in my system..none

Got started immediately on 50,000 units of D a week

and increased calcium to 2000 units a day

Here's a great slide show of good for your bones foods from Web MD

I feel so much better after being on 50,000 units of D for three weeks

After a bone density test last Friday and meeting with my doctor to discuss

Osteopenia, pre-osteoporosis, I know I have to work even harder to protect my health.

I'd already started lifting weights in January in addition to the walking we had been doing.

I signed on with a Trainer at the gym to meet with once a week to

start interval training and increase the weight bearing exercises.

JIll, my trainer looked at my Daily Plate meal log

and exclaimed, " You ate marinara sauce and no meat?

Where's the protein! Why didn't you eat any meat?

I told her sometimes I just don't feel like eating meat...

Jill then went into a list of foods that contain protein without eating meat
Tempeh — 1 cup — 41 g
Lentils — I cup — 18 g
Chickpeas — I cup — 12 g
Tofu — 4 oz — 9 g
Peanut butter — 2 tbsp — 8 g
Soymilk — I cup — 7 g
Brown rice — 1 cup — 5 g
Whole wheat bread — 2 slices — 5 g
Broccoli, cooked — I cup — 4 g

My goal last week was to get more protein...

Jill told me I would feel fuller and not reach for the carbs so much.

Back to the Chobani...14grams of protein, no fat..200mg of calcium

...it's a winner!

Note: http://www.livestrong.com/ go to the Daily Plate there, sign up, it's free. Log in your food each day to see if you are getting the nutrients you need.

It's Delish!!!

A Careful Women I Ought To Be....

A careful woman I ought to be:
A little girl follows me;
I do not dare to go a stray
For fear she’ll go the self-same way.
I cannot once escape her eyes;
What’re she sees me do,
she tries
Like me, she says,
she ’s going to be,
The little girl who follows me.
She thinks that I am good and fine,
Believes in every word of mine;
The bad in me she must not see,
The little girl who follows me.
I must remember as I go,
Through summer’s sun and winter’s snow,
I am building for the years to be,
For a little girl follows me.

-Author Unknown

I copied this poem this morning from a blog I found

while doing my bible study.

Please visit her blog A Wise Women Builds Her Home....it's beautiful!

She's so cheery ....

But....Denise Austin has staying power and LOOK at those abs at 52~! A great article about Denise was in our paper this morning in the Courier Journal. Included was a new half hour workout which includes interval training...

a new interest.

Walking 4+ miles everyday in the park and eating right was all I thought I needed to do to keep my weight off....not so I found out,

after I realized I'd gained almost 10 pounds.

How could that be!!!

I was eating pretty well and walking four and a half miles a day.

What I found out is....

my body had gotten used to the same old, same old and leveled off.

Since joining the gym and adding lots of different exercises, I'm seeing results after just 6 weeks. My favorite by far is Pilate's...love it!

The Elliptical and Octane give me the most bang for my buck

burning twice the calories of the treadmill in half the time.

We still walk in the park

at least three times a week when weather allows...

that's our first love!

Another thing I'm working on is to drink more water...

Denise gave these ideas to make water more appealing...

Slices of cucumber

Orange wedges

Shredded ginger

Mint Leaves

Chopped strawberries

Lemon slices

Two slashes of grapefruit juice

A peppermint tea bag

Green tea drops

A teaspoon of cranberry juice

Celery sticks

Orange juice ice cubes

Main thing is...never give up!

Never quit!

If you fall off the wagon..

get back on and on and on again!!

My Girls Celebrating Chinese New Year...

These pictures speak for themselves....my beautiful, beautiful girls! We have so much fun together, so blessed to be their Gramma Re. Leah is 4 1/2 and Kate was 2 in October.

Leah is such a good big sister...just born to be one. Kate wants to do anything and everything Leah does...but definitely has a mind of her own. Nothing...nothing stops this little one.

One of Melissa friends, Cinnamon noted that

these girls are two peas in a pod.....she was so right!

Way too much fun in one weekend.......

I sent this photo to my daughter Melissa to see if she thought it would be fancy enough for a black tie optional event. Melissa loved it, with her blessing, I wore it and felt great even though there were some ladies there decked to the nines. Oh yeah...I bought it at Dillards for $32! ( they are giving things away there)

These shoes would never have been an option for me when I was 50 pounds heavier... this photo does NOT do them justice....they are G-o-r-g-e-o-u-s!

Got on sale at DSW for $15.

The night after the black tie optional event we had a Valentines dinner at our church with musician Michael O'Brien , very romantic. Michael and his wife tell their story in the video below.

Michael's wife Heidi mentioned a quote by Corrie Ten Boom that

"There is no pit so deep that God’s love is not deeper still"

Amen!