Well, it's not going to kill you

The big shelf in the refrigerator

I was just in the frig to refill my water glass for the umpteenth time today.  I figure if I have water in my mouth I cannot simultaneously have food in it.  Will someone PLEASE take the rice krispy marshmallow thingies away!!!  I found them at Costco, now I'm addicted.  Yes I know they are disgusting beyond words but it doesn't stop me from inhaling them.

So as I'm returning the water pitcher to the shelf I take a quick survey.  1 water pitcher, 1 stock pot of half done( cooked not eaten)  chicken stock, 2 bottles of vodka (1 raspberry, 1 mixed berries) 2 bottles of beer, 1 bottle of Lemon Drop Mix, 1 bottle of wine with about a glass left, 1 bottle of Grenadine, 1 bottle of Bloody Mary Mix and 1 bottle of apple juice.

Do vodka, bloody mary mix, lemon drop mix and grenadine age like wine?  I hope so because I can't even begin to remember when all those bottles arrived.

Food, glorious food

Roasted veggies, almost any veggies.  Asparagus, broccoli and green beans are especially good.  Toss them with a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper. Put them in the oven at 400.  Cook for 8 to 10 minutes and voila!  DaVero Estate Meyer Lemon olive oil is a winner.

Waffles.  We decided to buy a new waffle iron after visiting a small cafe in Roseville and having wonderful Belgian waffles for breakfast.  Cooking.com has this one on sale.  Note: if you register at ebates.com you can get a rebate of 6%.  I almost always cruise by ebates to see if they have what I'm looking for.  So far I've received $1, 043.64 in rebates.

Our first try was spicy ricotta waffles.  Oh my goodness!  They were wonderful, we had them with chicken thighs that I sprinkled with cinnamon, chili, garlic and onion powders then grilled.  Add some roasted broccoli and you're in business. 

Tonight it's a steak recipe I got when we had dinner at the Inn of the Anasazi years ago.  The steak is flavored with coriander, chili, cinnamon and garlic.  It's served with white cheddar mashed potatoes with chipotle.   I'm including roasted asparagus. Yum.

We're now doing a good job of getting veggies in our diet so it's on to fruit smoothies to include more fruit.  I decided dieting isn't all that bad.  Since losing weight is one of the best ways to reduce the chance of cancer coming back I'm working on it.

Choices

As in lifestyle.  The diet has been ignored of late.  I know this is not good for several reasons.

Breast cancer recurrence, blood pressure, achy knee but it is a lifestyle choice.  Do I want to live longer?  Of course who doesn't.  

However at some point it comes down to do I want to eat really, really healthy so I can live to 100 instead of 95?  Especially when those years are likely to be spent in a nursing home.  Or do I just want to eat healthy and live to 95?

So I'm going with healthy and now that flu season is over it's back to the gym as well.  Sigh.  I really, really hate to exercise but exercise I must so cheer me on.

Bras!

OK guys unless your really interested you can pass on this post.

I bought new bras last week but not just any old bra that you can pick up at Macy's, Target, Penny's, etc.  These are exquisite bras from here Chanelle et Moi.  The cotton is made in Portugal, they fit like a dream.  You know how most of the time you find messing with your bra, with these you don't.  It feels as if I don't have one on.  Oh heaven!  They're expensive but so, so worth it.

The woman the owns the store can luck at you and tell your bra size.  It's simply amazing.
I ended up with 4 as she was having a buy one, check 50% the second sale.  So I figure I'm set for a while.  Interesting observation I bought a new bra a few weeks ago at another store.  The fitter there told me my left breast was one cup size smaller than the right.  In that bra it was very noticeable to me.  In the new ones you can't tell the difference.

Amazing what you can find to post about.

Missing in action

Five pounds gone, just gone.  I stopped getting on the scale daily because it was beginning to frustrate me.  Friends mentioned on Friday night that I looked skinnier.  My jeans have been feeling more loose lately but I didn't really think much about the fact.
This morning I hopped on the scale and wow.  A total of 35 pounds now!

I'm back

I took a little break because I decided I was getting to whinny.  In the mean time I've had my six month follow-up.  All is well.  Considering I've had 4 breast exams and an ultrasound in the past couple of weeks it's no surprise.  My port removal site is healing nicely and my knee is coming along fine, although with all the other MD appts I haven't made it to PT as much as I should.  I had a follow up with the orthopedic surgeon and he extended my authorization for PT.  That's good as I still need some work.  I've decided after my knee is out of rehab I'm going to join a gym. 

I've been holding steady at a 30 lb lose for weeks now.  It's getting very old.   My friend Erin belongs to the Airport Health Club so I'm going to join and we'll work out together a couple of times a week.  The big appeal for me is the heated pool that's open year round.  I love to swim!

And to fill more time I cleaned my closet.  It was getting REALLY messy, even for me.  It's amazing how many clothes don't fit after you've lost 30 lbs and none of them were staying in my closet.  I included the "if you haven't worn it in a year" stuff, culled my shoes and ended up 9 boxes and 2 big bags to give to the Salvation Army (the shoes took 2 boxes I looooovvvvee shoes and earrings).  Now I open my closet door and gaze upon the tidy shelves with their neatly folded contents.  The hanging racks are once again sorted, shirt with shirts, pants with pants, etc.  I'm trying to keep it neat because it looks so nice - all full of colors, not much black, brown, gray, etc- but neatness is not my strong suit. 

Next I'm tackling my desk, oh my.  It's almost as bad as the closet.  Then there's the "corner" where stuff gets stashed before it's supposed to be taken downstairs and the pantry that needs a BIG reorganization ...

The Knee and other news

The knee is doing great, thank you very much.  Surgery was a breeze and I saw the actual knee for the first time this afternoon.  I have a lovely bruise on the right side, 2 stitches and some fantastic pictures.  When I got home Larry suggested I put together a photo album of all my surgery pictures... here's my colonoscopy, my ruptured bowel, my knee... etc.

As soon as I can walk with out a limp I get to loose the crutches, actually the crutch Dr. Yinger reduced me to one crutch today.

on THE DIET! front I've now lost 26lbs.  Many more to go put enough that people are really beginning to notice.

Last but not least I'm the new chair of the Breast Care Center Community Advisory Council.  I have very big shoes to fill but know that I have the support of Amy and the rest of the Council so I'll be fine.

If nothing else

The DIET! gets us out of the house early Saturday mornings.  Well, early for us.  Today it was off to the Healdsburg Farmers Market to get fruit, veggies, herbs and a wonderful cheese.  Then it was out to brunch (as a reward for getting to the market), then a bit of wine tasting at one of the wineries where we are members.

Larry is now ensconced in front of his 46" TV and I'm catching up on my blog reading.  Nice day.

Diet update

24 LBS people!

I stepped on the scale Monday morning and was astounded.  I seem to lose weight in bulk.  I'll go for 3 or 5 days and the scale shows no change then all of a sudden it shows a 6 to 7 lb loss.  Don't know why that is but I'll take it anyway I can get it.

In other news I had my colonoscopy yesterday.  It took longer than expected so I got a double dose of happy drug which resulted in a not so happy me.  I ended up nauseous, very sleepy and very cold in the recovery room.  Fortunately lots of warm blankets and wonderful nurses were at hand.  We went out for a light lunch then I came home, slept 4 hours, got up for about 3 hours then went back to bed until 12 this afternoon!

At least I'm feeling fine today.

Weekly diet update

I've decided that I'm just updating once a week on The DIET!.  This week's loss is 5 lbs.  That makes a total of 16 since I started 3 weeks ago.

In a generous mode I'm sending my lost weight to a friend who needs to gain weight before she has surgery in a couple of weeks.