Tomorrow is weigh day and I have high hopes. I've been exercising every week day and this weekend I hiked yesterday because my sister from the east coast is here visiting and I wanted to show her the trail. She's really into working out as well and we did it yesterday & today and if I dance tomorrow I think she's doing a routine she has- might be called T Tapp? But for me the important thing is I'm sticking to my right eating plan. And that's a biggie for me right now. I think this weekend was either only the 2nd or 3rd weekend in a row that I've stuck to the plan. Anyway this morning after my workout I rode my new (used) bicycle downtown to the AA meeting. I have a picture of it but it's on my phone so I'll have to send it to my laptop so I can post it. Next time. After the bike ride we took Karen out to the lake and that was nice. The sun had finally come out. She has this cute little doggy, Emmy, but Emmy does not like the water at all ha ha! But Sam makes up for it and chases sticks in the water as long as you keep throwing them, and then continues to play in the water after you are tired of throwing. Everardo caught 3 fish sand he steamed them for dinner for him and Karen. I steamed vegetables and of course as always there was rice and beans. I didn't eat fish, I had leftover bbq'd chicken from yesterday. I really like fish, but these fish just have soooo many small bones that by the time I'm done eating I'm tired!
Yesterday was Mother's Day and Halla & Drewy came up after Halla got off work so it was not until about 6pm. But Everardo bbq'd chicken and picked up some salads (macaroni, potato, and salsa of course). Drewy brought me flowers and Halla brought me a box of chocolates (aarrgghh) that I planned to take to the meeting today for everyone, but Everardo put them in the freezer saying he wants to eat them...well I guess frozen makes them harder for me to justify eating them every time I pass by the fridge....but as you can see I'm still thinking about them. And if they're still there- unopened- in a week- well I'm getting rid of them. We had a nice time and I'm so glad the girls got to see my sister, since she lives in NY and Florida. After dinner Halla and I took a short bike ride- about 20 minutes, but I think every little bit helps. And I stayed on plan with my food as well. Yeah I bought the bike off Craigslist for $45, a green Schwinn, no gears, a beach cruiser type bike. It's the bike I tried to buy the week before but I thought was sold, and that's why we went to Wallmart and bought one for $160. And that was a good price because we went to a bike shop and they type of bike I like was $400!! I didn't ride the new bike because it was raining and a few days later the guy from Craigslist texted to tell me he still had the bike, so we drove down to Santa Rosa and got it, and took the other bike back. Then on Friday there was a garage sale on our street and we bought another bike for $20. It's a boy's bike, but with no gears. It's pretty rusty but can be cleaned up. It has good tires- well I hope so- they look good but need air. Last nite Halla rode Everardo's bike. But with an extra bike then when the girls are here we can go for bike rides and the neighborhoods around here are very nice for bike riding, better than Petaluma or Santa Rosa- soooo much less traffic ya know?
So as I said at the beginning I'm hoping for good news on the scale tomorrow. On Friday I was 5 pounds away from my lowest weight. April was month 1 of year 3. I lost 5 pounds but it was the same 5 pounds I've lost a few times over the past 6 months. So I recommitted to myself and I'm on my way. I'm also having a conversation with myself daily about the fact that I don't need to snack. Yes I can snack a little, but I was filling up on low calorie snacks, and I think my habot needs to be that I don't always have to have something in my mouth. This afternoon when we got back from the meeting I snacked on a rice cake thing (but tube shaped) with peanut butter on it. Total 99 calories and very filling. Later a green apple, then a string cheese at the lake- another 100 calories, but that's still alot of snacks.....But better than before, when I would have probly had some almonds or these yummy crackers I have. Both in low calorie portions, but that's just constantly stuffing something in. Ok so we finished dinner before 7pm, and I still have some calories left, and will have a weight watchers fudge bar (90 cal) around 10 pm. Then I always save at least 50 calories for bedtime when I always eat a teaspoon of peanut butter. I know I should probly cut that one out; but I always save 50 calories for it- in fact I add 50 at dinner to cover it-, and one thing I've always hated is trying to fall asleep starving. What I will probly do is begin to cut out the 10 pm snack like the fudge bar or other under 100 cal treat I have at nite and keep the teaspoon of peanut butter at bed time.
I think tomorrow we're going out to the coastal town of Mendocino; Karen hasn't been there in about 30 years I think. We drove thru after we first moved up here, actually maybe before we found the house because I think we went into some little shops and looked at Christmas ornaments. It's so nice to have her here! Everardo hadn't seen her since before we left for Mexico, maybe at my brother's wedding in Washington when we took the train up there. I went to New York 2 years ago and Key West Florida last year at this time so see them....but sadly because my brother in law, Barry, was dying. When I went to New York I was afraid I'd never see him again so I flew out there for a week. Then in the winter they drove down to Key West where they have a little houseboat, but unfortunately he just got worse, and worse. So both my other sister (younger) and I flew out there, but he died while we were there. So it's been a year. Karen is in good shape- well she seems that way anyway. They were married more than 40 years, it has to have been a weird year to say the least. So she drove out here from Florida, stopped at my brother's in Houston, at her sisters in laws in Texas and southern Calif, then up this way, first at younger sister's for a week and now here. Then she's going to head straight back. Maybe Everardo and I can make the drive out to see her in New York- if not this summer then next for sure. I know he would love her place!
Of course all three of us will do our own workouts before we leave. I think Karen and I are a good influence on each other for work out and eating right. Everardo is always a good influence on me (not counting the frozen chocolates ha ha which I bet he doesn't eat). But he is not a snacker at all, and never eats crap so it's easy to have all good foods in the house. And since he got that weight bench at the garage sale last week he's back to working out with the weights and is figuring out routines for me that won't bother my bad shoulder but can still work on my arms- I have that damn flabby arms under the biceps...yeah the tricep is the work i need. Anyway he is always so supportive of my efforts and very creative helping me find things that work for me. He can run for about 2 hours straight and ride his bike forever, but encourages me to "just ride around the block!". But never in a way that makes me feel bad about myself. Did I say I love my life? Soooo grateful for knowing such an awesome man, for having such an amazing dog, for finding ourselves living in another beautiful spot, for having such loving families.....yes. Enough for tonite. Oh a Ukiah fun fact:
Ukiah was founded in 1856 as a part of Sonoma County. With the creation of Mendocino County in 1859, Ukiah was selected as the county seat. The area is actually part of the Yokayo Rancho, which was a Spanish land grant in Alta California. The lumber boom of the late 1940s supported a large part of Ukiah's early population, as the logging of redwoods was a major industry at that time.
