I’ve got a new look!

 

Well not me really, just my blog!

While I should be cleaning this morning I have been experimenting with new blog backgrounds.

More fun than cleaning, but not very productive.

It does keep me out of the kitchen though and away from food.

Today is a new day or should I say a start over day.

Last night we went to a Birthday party and had Pizza Hut Pizza. Yum!

Even though I had the Fit and Delicious pizza I did try the BBQ Hawaiian.

That would have been fine if I didn’t feel the need to “taste” numerous times the icing off Tim’s cake.

Then I had to taste his Ice cream cake from DQ.

Again I didn’t need to have quite that many tastes!

Then Travis came home from Fort Wayne and brought his leftover Blueberry Cheesecake from Pizza Hut. (When did Pizza Hut get cheesecake? )

Again I had to have just a “taste”.

Do you see a pattern forming?

Now mind you I actually never had any dessert.

No not me!

I just had a few tastes!

So why don’t I want to step on the scale this morning?

Today is weigh in day so I have to!

But maybe not until after I work out!

The good news is I have a new day today to start over!

The bad news is I am going to potluck tonight where we are having 2 delicious desserts!

I of course being very disciplined will not take a piece!

But maybe I’ll just have a taste of Tim’s.

You know if he would just quit getting desserts I wouldn’t have this problem!  :)

 

Simply Amazed!

Today is a sharing day for me.

I want to share every once in a while what it was like to be fat. Actually obese.

Man, I really dislike that word. OBESE

Why is it the word skinny doesn’t sound so insulting.

Both words describe. They are just opposites.

One seems so derogatory while the other is a compliment. At least it is to me.

I mean really if someone told me I was skinny I first would think they needed there eyes checked but I wouldn’t be offended.

Now if someone told a skinny person or a fat person they were obese….. Watch Out! This is not a good thing.

Every day I am amazed at how much easier things are when you not hauling around a bunch of extra weight.

Hopping in and out of the car, putting on a seatbelt.

Let me tell you putting on a seatbelt before was no picnic.

First of all I had to stretch and pull and stretch an pull and then I had to find the receiver, not an easy task when you can’t see past your chest and gut.

Now its like “Cool! there it is”

Then there was the inevitable panic of the public restroom.

Some of those stalls are just not designed with fat people in mind. I know your thinking “Handicap stall” I would usually opt for that but have you ever seen how tall those stools are?

I have short legs, not a great combination.

I sort of felt like a weeble wobble.

Restaurant booths were not always friendly either.

You have heard of sucking in to get your pants zipped but have you ever sucked in to sit in a booth. I have! Not very fun! Getting out after eating a huge meal was a challenge too.

Why am I sharing these fat facts with you?

Being fat was a challenge. It took effort and planning. I never wanted to look out of breath or hot because I knew people would be judging watching. It is hard to appear normal when your huffing and puffing with sweat glistening off your forehead.

Maybe that is why I have been able to diet successfully I just channeled my effort and planning into eating and exercise.

Not many people can appreciate the joy of using a public restroom or sliding into a booth or even buckling your seatbelt. I can! It always simply amazes me.

I wonder if this feeling will fade and I will forget.

I hope not!

I want to keep the effort and planning channeled in the right direction!

Plus I enjoy being simply amazed!

 

Gum

I love to chew gum!

For years I couldn’t chew gum without swallowing it.

I would try to resist but to no avail I would always end up swallowing it.

It took me 38 years but I finally grew up and through fierce determination I can now successfully chew a piece of gum and when I am tired of it I spit it out and throw it away. YEAH!

Sadly though some of my closest friends and family don’t share my exhilaration over this fact.

They say I chew like a cow!

I tell them that I have an incredibly small mouth and I can’t help it! Even when I chew with my mouth totally closed I still get the disapproving glares.

Now I believe it is true that my chewing may be slightly distracting but I also believe I hang around with very sensitive people.

The other day my youngest son got in the car and demanded… “ Alright who gave Mom gum?” in a tone that demanded retribution.

So lately I have been trying to notice how other people chew gum.

Guess what? The people I watched all at some point chewed with their mouth open like a cow.

So I think this is a universal problem.

One of the reasons I like to chew gum is it keeps my mouth busy. It distracts me into thinking I am eating something.

I have two favorites at the moment. They both have a great flavor and are long lasting and they don’t get all rubbery.

When I am feeling a little fruity oh well, fruity, I can’t think of a better term right now. I choose the fresh sweet favor of Extra sweet watermelon.

This gum is packed with flavor and keeps it a long time.

When I am feeling minty. I go with Orbit Sweet mint.

 

And of course both of these gums are sugar free!

I just read or heard that chewing sugar free gum is great for dieters because it works as an appetite suppressant. That may have been a commercial for Extra gum now that I think of it so I really don’t have a documented source. :) I think dentists recommend it too. (Again another commercial)

Do you have a favorite sugar free gum you could recommend? I don’t like anything too hot. I am a wimp.

I am still working on chewing more lady like.  (If that is possible. Do true etiquettly sound ladies chew gum?)

At least it’s better than me chewing up hard candy!

I hear I am really annoying at this too!

Remembering Dad

25 years ago today my dad went to be with Jesus.

I was 15 and didn’t see it that way. I heard it and I said it but I didn’t rejoice about it.

I mourned, I cried and I hurt and some days like today I still do. Not for Dad, because he’s with Jesus the place he always longed to be, but for myself and all the things I think I missed with him. But for Dad now I can rejoice!

Even though its been 25 years I still miss him! It sure doesn’t seem that long.

But it’s Okay because I can go from tears to smiling just by remembering him.

So that’s what I am doing today…

Remembering Joyfully! ( With just a few tears )

For those of you who didn’t know my Dad I won’t go on and on because he was really just a normal guy that would hate any fuss and words of honor.

I knew he loved me, my Mom, my siblings and most of all his Lord and that he had a huge desire for everyone around him to turn there hearts over to Jesus. So enough said!

But here are some pics from the good old days…

Don’t you just love their glasses!

Definitely a 70’s picture, yellow cast and a leisure suit!

Another 70’s Pic this time Dad has the Leisure suit. :)

Mom and Dad’s 25th

 

Dad with his parents and siblings he was probably about my age in this one.

But he looks much older, right?

I love this pic of Dad with his siblings and Grandpa Sammy. He was always such a smiley and happy man. He looks ornery too. This is how I remember him!

Well I know this wasn’t a typical blog for me, no recipes or weight struggles for me today. (Not that I don’t have them)

Today I wanted to just remember my Dad, Chad (Charlie) Kaehr.

I guess I am just a little selfish because I wanted  a few others to remember him too.

Sunday Walk

 

Something unique happened to me today…

My anti-blogging husband encouraged me to blog.

He even went so far as to try to give me a lead in.

I think he just wants credit for walking with me yesterday. :)

So here goes…

Yesterday after church as I was devouring points snacking I looked at my husband and said…

“I have got to quit eating, I need to exercise!”

He replied “How about we go on a walk?”

I was like “ Outside?”

Okay this is where it really gets weird.

He hates to walk!

He was sitting in his favorite chair, drinking  his favorite drink, (Pepsi of course) when this idea hit him.

I am really not sure what came over him.

I think he was inspired by the sun streaming in the window.

All I know is that when he feels inspired to walk I do not hesitate, so even though I was not in a huge mood to walk outside I jumped on his suggestion before he could change his mind!

Good thing too because 2 minutes later he was already backtracking. But it was too late for him because my shoes were already on!

So off to the River Greenway we went for our walk.

I have to say it was the least amount of people I have ever seen when we’ve walked there. I really enjoyed the walk even though my nose was cold!

It made me realize how much I can’t wait for Spring, green grass, and blue skies with big fluffy clouds!

It also got me out of the house away from food for an hour, just the break I needed to regain control over a voracious Sunday snacking appetite!

So today my blogging is dedicated to my husband, Love knows no bounds!

I suggested to him that he do a Tuesdays with Tim blog. You never know, Miracles do happen! :)

A Beautiful Day!

 

2 weeks ago it started to snow. This resulted in a 5 day weekend for all of us in this area.

Isn’t it amazing just 2 short weeks later it is 50+ degrees.

That’s Indiana weather for you!

You know it is sort of cool that it’s nice outside but there are still mounds of snow. It makes me think of being up in the mountains! ( I have a great imagination HUH?)

Thanks to a very persistent friend. I got out in this beautiful weather (for February) and did a run/walk today!

Actually Julie called me last night with this suggestion, I only agreed to it as long as I didn’t get called in to sub. ( I have a hard time with committing to outside exercise )

Boy, I was really hoping for a sub job today! Not only because I love to sub and need the money but also because I really didn’t want to run/walk.

As you can tell I didn’t get called in :(

So I had to go on the walk/run.

Guess what?

It was great!  :)

I can say that now that it is over.

Julie met me at the appointed time in the appointed location with a very enthusiastic “I’m loving this! Can’t wait to start! Isn’t this great!” attitude!

I met her with “Yeah right, lets just get this over with!”

Through the first mile she kept at me “ Come on Suz just say your loving it”

Me- “Well I am not hating it as much as I thought”

The 2nd mile I actually started enjoying it. Of course maybe that is because it was half over.

We did our run/walk 2 miles in a very acceptable time of under 22 minutes. Then we walked another mile to finish out our time and visit.

Well I’m home now, it’s over and guess what I can say I loved it! I am so glad I did it! It was great!!

Thanks Julie for making encouraging me!

So my challenge for you today is get out there and walk, run, bike or do something outside. Breathe that clean fresh air into your lungs and enjoy.

Call a friend and encourage them to go with you!

You’ll love it! Be thrilled you did it! It will feel great!

Especially after it’s over!

 

Sunday Snacker!

 

Why is it I am always hungry on weekends?

Is this just a me problem or is it universal?

Sundays are especially hard! I always start out great but after church all I want to do is snack,snack, snack!!!

It is like my body is programmed to want to eat junky stuff on Sunday.

Did I train myself this way?

Is it genetic?

Is it from years of eating delicious church lunches?

Well whatever caused it I am left to deal with this hunger dilemma every weekend!

Now on Saturday I can shape myself up by exercising more.

But Sunday I just don’t take the time, I have to be ready for church, then there is the after church snacking. ( I could exercise then but of course I would get all sweaty and wouldn’t be ready for whatever Sunday night plans we have) Tonight was Troy’s 1st Swing Choir program.

Of course that didn’t last long and guess what they served snacks!!

But I was strong! I didn’t eat a single thing there!!!

YEAH!!

Then I came home!!

The Snack monster reemerged!

Now don’t get me wrong I didn’t fall off the wagon completely!

I just ate things I really didn’t need too.

I wasn’t even that hungry

It was just an inner snacking Sunday craving

Well the good news is I am going to bed so no more snacking this Sunday and I already have my broccoli ready to go for tomorrow!

Tomorrow will be better! Hopefully I won’t have an insatiable need for carbs and sugars!

After all it’s Monday! I’ll be to unmotivated to snack!

Everyone has an opinion

 

When you live in a house with 6 other people you soon realize that everyone has an opinion.

Not all opinions in this house are the same.

This can be a great thing! It makes life very interesting around here.

So it is with this in mind that I tell you about a new recipe I was given last week for Chocolately Muffins.

I love these muffins! They are super easy to make, not very expensive, low in points and delicious!

The last one is where the difference of opinions sets in.

You see I made them in my cupcake pans and as they bake they smelled just like brownies. So Tadd decided that this “diet food”  was for him.

So he just helped himself to a huge bite of a warm, delicious one right out of the oven.

I think his exact reaction was pupupuththth…….. I guess he didn’t like the texture! Well his loss is my gain!

Did I just say my gain? Now there is a naughty phrase for someone trying to lose weight.

Although it means we don’t have to share. So if your in need of a chocolate fix this is just the recipe for you. 

But remember that is just my opinion!

All you need are 4 ingredients!!

CHOCOLATE MUFFINS

3 cups Kellogg's Original All-Bran cereal

2 ½ cups water

Soak for 5 minutes, then stir

Add 2 tsp baking powder

1 box of Great Value Brownie Mix

Mix thoroughly, about 50 strokes

Bake @ 350 for 20 – 25 minutes

in sprayed cupcake pans. Makes 24 muffins

2 muffins = 3 points

And for a fun variation cut the muffin in half and add  1/4 cup Breyers Free ice cream, refreeze, serve with a dollop of free cool whip and a few miniature chocolate chips. This is delicious, takes awhile to eat, and is only 2 pts!

Cute isn’t it?

Now on to big find # 2 for the week!

I love cereal!

Before I started watching portions I took great pleasure in eating cereal.

I would always have to refill that bowl because of too much milk, then of course I had to add milk because of too much cereal, this would go on for awhile.

For 2 years I have pretty much stayed away from my favorite cereals unless I just ate them dry as a snack. Carefully measured of course!

This week I rediscovered Wheat puffs thanks to my Mom!

You know if you put splenda on them they taste just like sugar smacks! I loved Sugar Smacks as a kid! You remember that cool bear Sugar Bear!

Well look at how many puffs you can have for 2 pts! 2 whole cups!! IT actually fills the bowl! I just add 1 1/2 cups so I can still pour the last 1/2 cup in for later. Oh the good days are back! (Sort of)

Notice the full bowl, 2 whole cups of puffs versus 3/4 cup CapN Crunch. Same amount of points!

Plus they are only 99 cents a bag!

Well I have to go for today because someone in this house feels that I have spent way to much time on this post and blogging in general today!

But again that is just HIS opinion!