Just 40 Days

Goodbye 2017 I honestly cannot remember the last time I made a snow angel.  I hope it wasn't that long ago because they are so much fun to make.  Today, I made this angel with my granddaughter Skylar.  It is the first snow angel I ever made on a lake!

So as I was driving home from my eye exam tonight, I couldn't help but notice the street and traffic lights were all stars!  I wanted to get home and have someone else drive me around to look at the Christmas lights!  I've never experienced lights like that before as I usually have vision tests during the daylight hours.

It's really cold outside.  I hear the snow crunching under my neighbors car as they leave the driveway.  It always seems that the brighter the sun, the crunchier the snow! It looks so pretty with the deep blue winter sky and the sun glistening off the white of the snow.  It's almost peaceful...until you here the crunch!  The sound stirs up winter just as the smell of the leaves in autumn fill the air. I can always tell if it's really cold just by the crunch of the snow.

My weigh in day is Monday and even though it's Christmas, I diligently stepped on the scale.  The number is up from last week, but I'm still more than ten pounds less than when I started.  I'm also still under 200 pounds. So now that I can still find the good in the money I've spent on the nutrisystem plan, I have decided not to continue on the autopay plan.  I have a month of food and I need to rededicate myself to the plan.  So here's to a new year and new beginning.  See you on January 1st.

During the month of December, I try to watch as many Christmas movies I can.  Right now I'm enjoying one of the best in the signing and dancing category: White Christmas with Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye.  It's an old favorite, right up there with 'It's a Wonderful Life'.

Santa Veggies This is what I made for my 'large' family gathering today.

This morning my scale weighed me in two pounds heavier than last Monday.  I appear to be in a loop.  Up two, down two, up two, down two... I'm trying not to fret.  I'm glad I'm not doing this around between the numbers 198 and 200 as that would really drive me crazy.  I do not ever want to weight 200 pounds again. So I'll keep fighting the good fight and try to stay on plan!  I do best without the flex!  This week I have four events.  That leaves only three days on plan. That is better than zero days on plan. The only thing I need to flex is my muscles!

I can't believe it's nearing six o'clock in the evening and I'm still in my pajamas.  I've managed to watch all three 'Santa Clause' movies and look through all of my old photo albums. That's sums up my Sunday!

As a rule, I do not like to shop. I don't like to go to the grocery store nor to the mall.  I do LOVE a sale though.  So if I am able to get what I want or need on sale, I will shop.  That being said, on-line shopping is wonderful! Whether it's Amazon, Wayfair, or Chicos.com, I'm always able to find something I want or need on sale!

I've been struggling so much with taking care of myself these days.  The daily happenings of life whether at work or home are distracting me from my health focus.  The added financial stress of the holidays, providing for my family are adding to my distractions.  Believe me, I've been 'poorer' but I never thought I would be stretched so thin at my age. Stretched so thin - ha! If only stress would stretch me thin, but it doesn't because i mindlessly put things in my mouth when I'm distracted. 

Today is our first snow delay of the school year!  Yippee!  I can't believe I didn't go out and shovel last night.  I love to shovel.

Cookie Day 2017 I love this time of year, with all the baked goods and candy. I like cookies so much that there have been years where I chose not to have any adult beverages during the holidays because I was using all my 'extra' calories on the wide variety of candy, breads, and cookies! So here it is, halfway through December and I'm finding it hard to resist the extras opportunities for food and fellowship.  This is not a good thing while on the Nutrisystem plan. I promised myself I wouldn't waste my money by NOT following the plan. So what am I to do? So far, I haven't lost any more weight since Thanksgiving.  (I keep gaining and losing the same few pounds.)  So, I'm maintaining my weight.  I need to decide to just 'flex' (go off plan) until after the holidays OR stick to the plan. I don't want to gain back the 14 pounds I've lost since the end of September.  The struggle is real!

My kids are my heart. I love my kids. I will do most anything for them.  I want them to be happy.  I want them to be independent. All of my life, I've been a matter of fact kind of person.  I'm quick to judge. I don't sugar coat things and I have a hard time giving emotional support.  I hug people alot because it helps to keep me from talking. I don't listen as well as I could. I've been working on these personal flaws. Personal growth is hard work.  I know this.  I can't make it easier for myself nor can I make it easier for my kids.  The struggle of growth is real.  It's tough to keep going through the tough times but it's worth it.  I know, I've been through many a tough time.  When I get through it, I'm stronger for my struggles. Letting my children go through their struggles will help them grow.  I just need to be supportive to their choices.  I need to listen more, talk and judge them less. This is hard for me.  It's my tough t

I've been using Nutrisystem for 11 weeks now.  I'm down fourteen pounds which is so much better than being up fourteen pounds or staying the same!  I stick to the plan 5 of 7 days a week.  I plan on continuing this way until 2018.  I think that's the best way for me to make it through the holidays!

I had a really busy but relaxing day today.  It' started off in the usual way, with getting up with my dog Aiden, making coffee and breakfast while piddling around the house as everyone else sleeps. Then I headed out for church, the choir sang and we went out for brunch afterwards. The afternoon was spent in a pub with good friends.  Life is good!

Last night, I spent time in the kitchen baking.  I haven't baked for the holidays in a while.  I let others do the baking. Today, my niece is hosting the family cookie baking tradition at her house and everyone shares so that we all go home with a variety. Usually there are buckeyes, fudge, wedding cakes (I hope), and of course, frosted cut out sugar cookies.  The littlest bakers like to frost! Something inside me wanted to bake this year so I looked up two new recipes.  I decided on soft gingerbread and lemon drop with white chocolate.  I baked mine ahead of time so that her kitchen can make way for others.   Gingerbread and Lemon Drop 

Friend or Foe? I've been frustrated, no, disappointed with the progress I've not made in my weight loss journey in the past couple of weeks.  I can't believe the numbers went up.  So I rationalized  and weighed myself the next morning.  Guess what, the scale was two pounds less!  Today I got on the scale again and it read 192.0!  I feel so much better! Now I know, I should NOT be a slave to the scale.  I know that I should stick to the weigh once a week plan.  I also know that I need to look at a four week progress, certainly not a daily progress.  But, I get sucked into the numbers game and it seems like the little scale in the bathroom beckons me to use it!  It's mental. Our brains are a powerful tool that we use to help or hinder ourselves with.  I have to get mine to get on board to HELP me!   I can do this!

Noel - I have a happiness! During the month of December, I like to watch all of the holiday shows, movies, cartoons, that I can.  I usually start with 'It's a Wonderful Life' while I'm decorating the living room.  After that, it doesn't really matter the order in which I watch. I try to catch the shows as they air on the local television stations. Nowadays, it seems that they take turns sharing the classics:  Rudolph, Santa Claus is Coming to Town, and Frosty the Snowman.  I have some DVDs but again, nowadays, with technology things are different.  I can watch movies on my apple TV, Netflix, Hulu, and HBO.  I even stream videos from Youtube on my Chromecast, which is the only place I can see my favorite animation: Noel. Gone are the days of shows only airing once a season.  I can watch pretty much anything on demand even though I don't subscribe to any television plans.  What I miss the most because of that is the 25 days of Christmas where I would see m

My children have grown and so the tradition of St. Nicholas Day in the Brandt house has not continued...which makes me a little sad. When my kids were little, they would place their shoes (and sometimes their boots!) on the stairs before they went to bed on the 5th of December.  In the morning, they find them filled with a Christmas decoration/toy and candy. When I get out my decorations, I am reminded by those that St. Nicholas brought: snow globes, nutcrackers, santas, bears, snowmen.  I do like the memories!

I just don't feel like doing anything today after work.  No big reason, just tired of going, going, going. It's so nice to already have my home decorated.  It's an even better feeling to have already hosted my annual Christmas party.  I'm not fretting too much over shopping.  I've got some of it done.  I'd better start wrapping soon, just to make sure, but for today, I'll relax!

I weighed myself three times this morning!  Yes, I thought it would change!  No, it did not change at all.  Not even for my birthday!  I'm 57 years old today. For the second week in a row, my scale moved in the wrong direction AGAIN.  This means, thanksgiving week of vacation did not go as well as I thought.  Add in calories from my party last Friday and the total is a five pound gain. UGH! I'm thinking of many things that would explain this as I really do not think that I ate and drank my way to a five pound gain in two weeks.  (It takes 3,000 extra calories to gain a pound!) I do know that my ankle and feet have ached since walking in the mountains. I've been sore for over a week.  Muscles and tissues retain fluid when they are injured causing them to swell.  I truly believe that is part of it.  The other part is due to my eating and drinking patterns...or flexing when I shouldn't. On the good side, I've been receiving lots of compliments and feel so much

7.5" Fontanini (1990's) I started my Fontanini Nativity collection in the early 1990's.  I bought the creche which included Mary, Jesus, Joseph, an angel, donkey and a shepherd with bagpipes at the end of the season sale at 75% off. Every year after, my parents would give me another piece.  One year, I even got a repeat so I have twin 'Daniels' with a horn (clarinet).  I have more than twenty figures, five of which are musicians. I also have several animals including the cow, donkey, some sheep, a goat, and a dog! I love to rearrange them and I'm not afraid of them getting broken.  That's the reason I went with the Fontanini - they are made of resin and have earthly tones.  Nativities should be played with!

A snowball throwing octopus! I've been hosting a 'Ladies Night Out' Christmas ornament exchange for a long time.  I invite around 30 or so of my family and friends and anywhere between 20 and 40 of them show up for night of food, fun, and fellowship.  This year did not disappoint. There were twenty-two of us this year. We gather around 7 and visit for a while.  Around 8 we start the exchange.  This year it lasted until 10!  We had loads of fun.  My ornament is seen in the picture above.

Tonight is my Christmas party.  I need to see this to help me stay on track!

 I know that writing is something that I like to do.  After doing it a while, I've learned that it is therapeutic for me.  I try to think up a topic, but today I've drawn a blank.

Just when I thought I was making real progress towards eventually running again, I walk in the hills of North Carolina and now my ankle is complaining. It's really bothering me. I think that all of the uneven terrain was too much for it.  And then I think it was good for it.  I was using my ankle in different ways, which will help make it stronger.  That's why I have awareness. The good thing is that it's less each day and it's making me do my exercises more often.  You see, I tend to forget to do the things that help me in my recovery when I'm pain free. Recovery is a work in progress - I have to work to get the progress.

Last Monday I headed south for a week of 'flexing' with the family.  The number on the scale is a little disappointing, up a little over a pound.  I was hoping to stay the same.  But with the two 10 hour  car trips with little activity and Thanksgiving fixings, it's not too bad. I did alot of walking three out of the four days I didn't spend in the car.  One of those days was mostly stairs on the way to 2280 feet of elevation on top of Chimney Rock Park.  Funny thing was going down the stairs was alot harder than going up!  My ankle has been complaining ever since. Got back on the Nutrisystem plan yesterday.  A lot less 'flexing' is in store for me.  December is packed with holiday parties, beginning this Friday when I host mine.  Everything in moderation. Nothing tastes as good as being healthy feels. I've got this!

Corner shelf of Santas and Nutcrackers It's the Sunday after thanksgiving...time to start decorating for Christmas! My watch says I have nearly 6,000 steps and I'm about halfway finished!  The tree needs some major fluffing before it can be decorated. I host an annual Ladies Night Out event on the first Friday of December so I have to complete the task of decorating by then.  Depending on the year, anywhere between 15-35 ladies come to exchange ornaments, eat, drink and visit.  We've been doing it for 27 years. I still haven't decided what I'm serving.  My guests expect a Reuben Dip so that's on the menu.  I will also have veggies and hummus to keep filled with fiber.  Desserts will vary as my guests tend to bring them. My boys raked the leaves and strung the lights on the house so all that is left is up to me.  I hope I don't procrastinate much!

I don't know about you, but driving calms me.  I think it's because I've gotten many miles in. Whether I was driving to and from Angola Indiana in the early 80's or home for the holidays from Pensacola, Virginia Beach or most recently, ten hours to North Carolina for a family getaway. This last trip there were three of us in the car.  We listened to an audio book on the way.  I highly recommend doing that. My 11 year old granddaughter picked out the book: I Am Princess X by Cherie Priest.  It did not disappoint!  It lasted 6 of the 9 or so hour trip.  The sky was blue and the traffic was pretty light.  I drove the entire way as my son Paul was afraid he would get a speeding ticket that he couldn't afford. As all of us are Michigan fans, we listened to THE game on the way home.  It was a pretty good story for about three hours, then, with one interception, it turned for the worse.  We were not very happy with the outcome.  But our hearts will remain true:  Go

Broad River It's my fourth day of peacefulness in the mountains of North Carolina.  We celebrated thanksgiving yesterday with all of the trimmings.  Although I was missing my some of my family, Derrick was home with my dog Aiden and of course, Haylee in heaven,  my heart and my belly were full. North western Carolina is

State Park As our family gathering in the hills of North Carolina continues, we headed to capture the flag at the top of the mountain.  We walked up the steps to an elevation of 2280 feet.  We didn't all make it. Traveling with toddlers, Hayden 18 mos. and Skylar 3 1/2, Justine and Steve had to turn back halfway.  Paul, Carly and I continued to the top.  I found it much easier to go up the stairs then coming down.  I had to remove my progressive glasses to navigate the stairs as gravity wanted to help me get down from the mountain, It was a breath taking view, reminding me of how small I am.  It is good to be in nature, hear the sounds of the river, smell the woods all around, and appreciate what a wonder the United States of America is.

Chimney Rock NC

Three Generation Road Trip Blue skies, fall colors, an audio book and ten hours in a car; road trips don't get much better.  We're driving from Ohio to North Western North Carolina for a week of relaxation and Thanksgiving holiday with family.

Total loss of 15 pounds. Two months ago I made a decision to invest in myself.  I set a goal to lose 50 pounds before spring.  I weigh in on Monday mornings and once again, the scale did not disappoint.  I'm down another pound. I weighed nearly 210 pounds that day in September when I said enough was enough. It took a little while for me to decide on a plan of attack. I chose Nutrisystem, placed my first order and began their plan about 10 days later when the food arrived.  I've just finished my breakfast of pancakes, spinach and an egg.  I am full.  I will be leaving for Thanksgiving holiday with family in North Carolina.   I will not be following the NS plan exactly, having dinners on my own.  I'm not too worried as I've learned alot about myself and how the plan works.  Nothing tastes as good as feeling healthy.

Today my oldest granddaughter, Carly turns eleven.

My family is going through some growing pains.  As a mother, experiencing pains of her own, it's hard for me to watch my children go through theirs. It seems that all I can do is say:  I love you.  Or pat their hand and insist it will be okay. It's difficult for me, knowing that I cannot make it better; knowing that they have to go through this time and that they will be stronger because of it. I remember my own mother doing this for me.  It was thanksgiving of 1978 and I missed my ride home from college.  I called my parents and my mom said:  that sounds like a personal problem.  (WHAT!#@$)  I was shocked and thought:  you mean, you're not taking time and driving the 90 miles to come and get me? At that time, my parents had five children still at home and one car.  Of course no one was coming!  So I had to find my own way home.  It was an adventure and a learning experience I still have not forgotten.  I grew a lot that day and I made it home for Thanksgiving! I w

I attended the funeral of a long time family friend.  He was nearly 70 years old and had heart issues for 50 of them.  His heart finely got the best of him,  but not before he give his heart to all. Life is hard.  Life is good.

I had a really good Tuesday, and it isn't over yet. I still have to get to the YMCA to teach my teen class. What makes Tuesday so terrific? Do we dread Mondays so much that Tuesdays are great by comparison?  Or is it just a good day! I know for me, Monday is my hardest teaching day.  I'm on my feet all day with Pre K - grade 2 students that I teach and then take to the gym for their physical education class.  That's eight classes in a row with children under eight years old! So in comparison, today's six classes were a piece of cake! 

My scale did not disappoint and continues to head in the right direction. I'm down another pound --- Yipppeee! The greatest part about this is that I'm no longer afraid that the number on the scale will begin with a two.  I am solidly in the 190s.  I believe this is a little less than the weight I was at before my first foot surgery in March of 2016. Recovery from that surgery restricted me to eight weeks of non-weight bearing mobility, followed by weeks in the boot. By the time I had the second surgery six months later, in September, I had gained twenty pounds. I could not afford do that again, so I joined a Group Lifestyle Balance plan and committed to a year of meetings.  I didn't gain any weight during that time which included the same non-weight bearing restrictions as the first surgery.  I am grateful for not gaining weight during that year but needed to do more.  That's when I made the decision and financial commitment to the Nutrisystem Plan.  I can affo

Carly, Skylar & Hayden My grandchildren bring joy to my heart. I have three beautiful granddaughters. Carly is the oldest.  She will be eleven next week.  She is already taller than me and we wear the same size shoe.  She was a great helper this weekend with her younger cousins, Skylar and Hayden.  Each one of the girls have wonderful smiles and silly personalities.  They made me laugh with their goofiness and proud of how much they love each other.

It really is true.  You are what you eat. I've been eating better for more than six weeks now and I can tell.  I have more energy and less inflammation. My skin tone looks better and I have less bloat.  I've lost over twelve pounds and eight inches. I'm receiving compliments. These are all things that encourage me to keep eating more vegetables. I've got this!

I'm keeping my granddaughters from Indiana for the long weekend.  My favorite part of the drive to their house is a large windmill farm near the state border.  I began my drive after dinner.  As I was approaching the border I realized  that now as daylight savings time is over, I would not be able to see the quiet giant windmills. It was pitch black the entire drive. Soon I began to notice a few unusual (to me) red lights in the horizon.  They were flashing in unison.  I wondered to myself, could it be the windmills?  Soon there were more and it was beautiful!  I knew it was the favorite part of my journey and it did not disappoint.  I'm so glad I got to see it!  Thank you clean energy!

Haylee's old car I've been debating on whether to write about this here.  It is what is on my mind and writing is therapy for me.  So here goes it: Last night, my phone rang at 3:30 a.m. It's hardly ever a good thing when the phone rings in the middle of the night.  The phone call is usually about a family member; someone was hurt, died or had a baby.  Haylee used to call when she got off her shift from work.  She was awake and would just want to talk. I sure do miss those calls now. Anyway, the call I received was from my oldest son.  He hit a road construction sign on and totaled his car.  Thankfully, he was not hurt and no one else was involved.  It could've been a lot worse.  I'm thankful for that. The car was Haylee's old car, a 2001 Pontiac Vibe.  It's a mixed blessing; the vibe reminded others of Haylee and now it is gone. I pray that this incident will somehow turn out to be a positive in Derrick's life.  The greatest want for a parent

I am one of the lucky ones. I love vegetables, even more than I like fruit. Lately I've been eating the squash: acorn, butternut and spaghetti.  I like to bake them and warm up the house with heat from the oven and the aroma of something sweet. 

I have learned alot about myself in my over fifty years of life.  I know that I am kind and smart.  (or kinda smart!) I know that I can be argumentative.  I know that I love my family and chocolate. I learned alot about life too.  There are big things, like people, relationships and feelings.  And there are little things: everything else.  I don't like knowing that I'm not in charge but I like knowing that God has a plan for me.  One of the hardest things I've learned is that joy and sorrow are connected. I am an emotional eater.  That means, I eat when I'm happy, or when I'm upset.  Before I eat, I have to remind myself to think the last time I've eaten. Am I really hungry? I know that sometimes, I just want crunchy and salty.  Nothing else will do.  I know this about myself.  So I had to learn to measure out a serving size and savor every ounce of the one ounce serving for 140 calories...portion control is key.

Down 13 pounds! I don't follow the plan exactly, but I do the best that I can to incorporate everything I have learned to be healthy. I have definitely increased the amount of vegetables I consume.  I also eat when I'm hungry even if I have already reached the minimum calorie count on the Nurtrisystem plan. Portion control is key for me.  I'm from generation raised to eat everything on my plate.  I don't feel deprived. In fact, I have dessert most days.  I still meet with my friends for food and adult beverages one day each week.   Social events are important to my morale. My activity level has also increased.  Physical therapy has been helping in the recovery since my last surgery in September of last year.  I'm getting closer to being relatively pain free and hope to be running a 5K in the spring.  My feet are a major reason I need to lose weight. I am 5 foot 4 inches tall and have a goal weight of 150 pounds.  I have 44 pounds to go.  If I continue to l

Last night, we left daylight savings time and returned to standard time.  Most people think this is the night we are given an extra hour of sleep.  I will admit, I too, used to think of it that way.  Today, I think otherwise.  I went to bed at the same time I usually do and I woke up seven and a half hours later, like usual.  I have found that I have been given an extra hour of day. Time is relevant.  It is filled with moments to do whatever you want.  I want to be productive and take time for myself.  Enjoying all of the things around me.  Walking my dog and talking with my family. I'm missing my daughter Haylee alot more than usual today so I have to stay busy. 

I'm sure the reason that I love the colors of Autumn is because my mother did.  She always pointed them out and said how much she loved the changing colors of the trees and the red of the burning bushes.  She also loved sunflowers and forsythia in the spring. My mom was good at finding the beauty and goodness in the world. I know that I am like her in that way too.  I am also strong, independent, and opinionated like her.  Many think I look like her and that makes me happy.  I know that although we disagreed on many things, and my dad would say:  "You too are too much alike." I have always wanted to be like her.  I would say that my mom had eight children, and I only had four, but if I could be half as good as she was, I would be a good woman. Mom's birthday was on Halloween, she has been gone for nearly ten years now and I miss her most in Autumn.