Days 160 - 173

Happy New Year!!! Yes, I've been on holiday and everyone deserves a little bit of a holiday now and again. It has been lovely! I haven't done anything special, but have accomplished a few things for myself. Being that it is the last few hours of 2013, I think you can humor me with one more list, so here it is!

Top 10 Things I Did Over My 13 Day Holiday

1. Celebrated a lovely Christmas with my family.
2. Shopped.
3. Worked...a little.
4. Rested (read: slept...a lot).
5. Ate whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted it and as much of it as I wanted. (read: Overate.)
6. Shopped.
7. Went to the library and read books.
8. Cooked special meals for the family for each of the special days.
9. Did some baking.
10. Oh yes, and SHOPPED!

I don't really like shopping, but at this time of year it's just necessary. There are gifts to purchase and tons of great sales! Before Christmas it was all about gifts, but after Christmas I was into solving problems around my house. For instance, due to the small size of my closet, there really is only room for 3 pairs of shoes. I have more than that and have been using an over the door shoe rack. However, this had become very uncomfortable for me as it prevented the proper closing of the door and also made it hard to get in and out of the closet. So, I needed to shop for a new solution. Problem solved at the after Christmas sale at The Container Store. I was able to secure a new under bed storage solution for the shoes that works perfectly! Now, I have the three pair of shoes I use most often in the closet and the others are safely and neatly (most importantly) stored under my bed. With the added benefit of taking up under bed space so that monsters don't have room under there, who could ask for a better solution? I also found a better container for storing my handbags while I was at it and bought a special hanger to hold my scarves. My closet was GREAT before, but now it's just FANTASTIC!!

So, I'm good with shopping as long as I have a purpose. Otherwise, count me out. One of the things I did while on holiday was to work on my annual list of 52 Things to get done in the next year. I'll be posting that list on New Year's Day (tomorrow) so be sure to stop back by tomorrow to see what I want to get done next year. 2014 is my year to get all 52 things done...I can feel it in my bones!!

Thanks for checking in! I hope you enjoyed your holiday season with people you love. Now, I have just a few more things to do before a midnight toast and bed time. One thing that is very important to me is that my house be clean when I go to bed on New Year's Eve. That way, when I get up on New Year's morning, after I brush my teeth and make my bed, my house is clean!! Crazy lady, I know, but it makes me really happy when I can have that. My boys worked really hard with me to make it happen and I really appreciate it. So, until tomorrow when I will dazzle you with lots of New Year's fun, sweet dreams, Sweeties!!

Days 157, 158 and 159

Cairn Terrier Puppy - Photo by Onesojourner via Wikipedia

I want a dog. If you didn't know that, then you know it now. It isn't the right time in my life for a dog, but I still want one. The thing is, I want a specific kind of dog and I'm just going to have to wait to have it. If you're not a dog person you'll never understand, but I love animals. The problem is, I'm not at home enough to care for a dog. Like most people I work and dogs need attention. I know that when I retire, that will be the time to enjoy a pet, but I'm nowhere near retirement! (Or so I like to tell myself...clearly I'm about 12 years away from it! Not long!!!) What kind of dog, I hear you asking? I want a Cairn Terrier. I have it all planned out. The dog will be male, black and I'll name him: Paladin. That's right...I love the character Paladin, played by Richard Boone in the TV show, Have Gun-Will Travel. You might not have the opinion that Richard Boone was handsome, but he is definitely on my list of strikingly dark attractive men. As with dogs, I like my men dark and handsome. Listen to me! Like I've got dark handsome men lined up for a whirl with me!! HA!!!

Every so often I get this desire for a dog...it will pass.

I'm afraid that today's calorie count along with the last few days was WAY out of the park. Celebrations are going on for the holidays and it has just been useless to try to count the calories. I had a hamburger today that's called, "The Big Ass" burger for lunch and I'll tell you what...I can't decide if it is so called because it is as big as your ass or if it just will likely lead to such an ass. I'm not really sure...maybe both! The burger was huge! I keep testing the old rule of not eating things that are bigger than my head!

Every day this week I've had the need to be at my office very early in order to be ready for some special project or for a meeting or some such thing. Tomorrow is my last day to work this week and I'm looking forward to a more normal day. Now, it's time for me to get myself to bed and dream. Until tomorrow when I'll attempt to get back on track where I belong, sweet dreams, Sweeties!!

Days 154, 155 and 156

Last Sunday = 280.2  Today = 276.2  Down 4 lbs.

Good Sunday morning! I can say that because of the above (don't tell me you didn't notice!!). No, it's not a HUGE loss, but for me, any amount of pounds down is great! I feel pretty good, although I'm having a bit of a headache today. As it is Sunday, I will most likely stay indoors, complete domestic tasks and take head pain reliever. *smile*

Last night was the first night of the luminaries in for my neighborhood. I took a video, but I don't know how much of it really makes sense. So, let me explain just a little. Every year, my neighborhood association sponsors luminaries (white bags with sand and little lit candles in the bottom) being placed all along the walking trails of the neighborhood.  There are over 30 miles of trails in the area, so this is no small task! The park part, is right across the street from my house. The event goes on for two nights around Christmas and the second night is tonight. Here is the video I shot last night:

Keep in mind that I shot this video with my iPhone5 and clearly I don't know how to use the camera on that phone well, yet. I'll get better, but you have to watch the videos and give me pointers. Yes, there is homework with this blog! Now, get moving and leave me tips!!

The plan for this week is to share the calorie count I reached each day and whether I was able to workout or not that day. Over the past two days I had a calorie count of 1,550 to 1,700 per day. Yes, I was a little over, but remember, I'm not a machine and neither are you! My goal is 1,500 and I will stay as close to that as I can, but God gave me a big huge appetite! I'm hungry, no kidding, all the time! Some days I will be under the calorie count and others I will not. It all evens out and I'm going to be just fine. The exercise is KEY. I have to get that in most days.

I'll share with you that today, I am not counting the calories. I won't be going out for any HUGE meals (restaurant portions are tremendous, you know!) but I also will not count anything today...except for maybe headache pill as my head is splitting wide open now.

So, I'm off to do something else. Have a lovely Sunday and enjoy the wonderful life going on around you. There's only one shot at today, so make it right for you! Until tomorrow when I'll share 5 of Nancy's prime nuggets for the day, sweet dreams, Sweeties!!

Day 153

Have you ever had a moment where you thought to yourself, "What just happened here?" I have that particular thought lots lately. Usually the answer I have to give myself is, "You opened your big, fat mouth, Nancy. That's what happened!" Yes, I have a big mouth. I didn't know it was possible to get all of my two big feet into my mouth at the same time, but it is! Most of these situations start out as innocent questions from me (because I'm just stupidly curious) or just a moment of "sharing" as a woman will sometimes do. How was I supposed know that your Great Aunt Lucille was a contortionist when I shared that I thought all double-jointed people were freaks of nature? And, oh yeah, why...WHY...is it I thought I had to share that? Somehow I get lulled into a false sense of security and open my BIG MOUTH!! No, that isn't exactly what I did, but close enough. Needless to say, I had an interesting day!

I've thought and thought about the food thing and I'm still working through this issue. I really don't think you want to read about my oatmeal everyday! So, what do you think if I just tell you what the total calorie count was? Let's try that! Remember, the daily goal is 1,500. For today it was:

1,535

I went a little over today, but I did really well the other days this week, so I'm okay with this. I am eating fresh fruits and veggies and I have me a moto:

Eat food, the kind your great grandmother would recognize as food;

Not too much;

Mostly plants!

I think I read that in a book somewhere, but it fits me and is EXACTLY what I have to do! Yes, I need to keep up with what I'm eating, but really if I don't over fill myself, eat mostly "whole" foods that are really food and not pretend food made in some laboratory, I should be good. Also, I need to exercise as much as possible and drink water. This week, I'm striving for every other day; doing a 1 mile walk using Leslie Sansone Walk-Away The Pounds videos. Just like everyone else, I have to work into the routine and make sure I don't injure myself again. That sciatica giant needs to keep sleeping. Therefore, I take it slowly. I will weigh myself and post my weight each Sunday and if I start to go the wrong direction, I'll go back to posting exactly what I ate...boring!!! I don't want to be boring, I just want to be NORMAL!!

We are moving ever closer to my annual list of 52 things that I want to get done in the new year. No, this isn't a list of 52 resolutions, it is simply a list of 52 small things that I would like to do in the next year. I have never once gotten all 52 done in a year, but by making the list and doing just one thing a week, I feel I get WAY more done each year when I have the list. On top of that, IT'S A LIST!!!  Who doesn't love a good list? If you'd like to check-up on the 2013 list of 52 things, click here to reach that blog posting. Some of the things that didn't get done in 2013 will undoubtedly show up on the list for 2014, but usually I like to look at what I got done and try to refocus myself where I need to be. Sometimes, I need to be more productive at home, but other times, I need to do more fun or relaxing things. I don't know exactly where I want to focus this year, but it would not be a new year for me without my list of 52 things! My cousin, who is also my sister-in-law (go figure that one out and tap me on the shoulder when you think you've got it all worked out...I'll bet you'll be wrong) turned me on to this 'list' idea about a hundred years ago. Okay, not really a hundred years, but at least 30 years ago. I've been doing it ever since. It started out on both sides of a piece of notebook paper and now I make it a blog posting. I love the list of 52 things!

Well, it's time for me to clean up and get ready for bed. I will be on vacation tomorrow and will sleep in a bit for a change. We are moving ever closer to Christmas and preparations have to be made for gift giving and special meals. That means errands and house cleaning this weekend! Yippie!! So, until tomorrow when we will see if Nancy can keep her size 9's out of her mouth, sweet dreams, Sweeties!!

Day 152

I'm sick of tracking my food already! What is a confirmed nincompoop about weight loss supposed to do? I know this works, but I HATE doing it!! Aaaaahhhhh!!!!! (That was me screaming...just in case you could hear it.) There are so many great things I could be doing, but no, I'm over here writing about the food that I ate today and thinking, "Who the heck cares whether I had celery or cheesecake for supper tonight?" I could lie down on the floor and hold my breath and kick my feet...you know, throw a fit, but I hope I'm beyond that. Nope, instead I'll just do what I know has to be done and calculate my calories here in this blog. Today I had...

• Breakfast - Egg, turkey sausage and cheese breakfast sandwich
• total calories = 370
• Snack - Pop Chips (Sweet Potato)
• total calories = 110
• Lunch - Homemade Chili, carrots and plain non-fat greek yogurt
• total calories = 340
• Snack - Celery and Almond Butter
• total calories = 190
• Supper - Zucchini Lasagna (leftovers) with carrots, pickles and a slice of toast
• total calories = 380
• Total Calories = 1,390

There...I've done it. I'm doing it, but I don't like doing it. Please, God, please let the weight come off me so I can stop doing this!  PLEASE!!! Yes, I'm whining and begging...don't look...it's not pretty.

I'll be donning my sneakers here in a few minutes so that I can Walk-Away the pounds with Leslie Sansone. I have some of her DVDs, but there are workouts also available on YouTube. Here is one that might be good to try...

Basically, someone just shot a video of Leslie's video playing on the TV.  Kind of crazy, but there you go! I suggest going onto Amazon.com and buying her DVDs. Her workouts are easy to follow, progressively challenging if you move up the scale adding more miles and they work. I really did lose 107 lbs. counting calories and walking to Leslie's videos and I'm going to do it again!  Apparently I will complain the whole way, but you can kick me in the ass if I don't make good on this promise! Hey! Stop that lining up to kick me thing!!

Now, I want to get on with doing my walk and getting myself then ready for a big day tomorrow. So, until tomorrow when yes, again you will have to hear about what I ate and all of that, sweet dreams, Sweeties!!

Day 151

Hello!  I watched a YouTube video today during lunch where a YouTuber ranted on about things that have been over done on YouTube and in blogs. She says that showing you pictures of or talking to you about food is bad and that it's over done and that I need to stop doing it. All I want to know is,  who made her the expert? I checked and as I understand it, I can put whatever the heck I like in a blog posting or in a video. You have the right to not read or view the content if you don't want to! Great arrangement!! I really want people to read my blog, but I have a greater need to write than I do for you to read. I've thought about my unstoppable desire to write and I believe that I just enjoy it so much that it doesn't matter how many people sign up or view my pages. Yes, I get excited when I see that someone has been on my page and I hope they found something helpful or entertaining, but really, I write for me. Clearly I'm not an expert at anything except, Nancy Hemati! I know everything there is to know about her and at this time, I'm trying to rebuild her from the ground up. By the way, she's fantastic and I love her...er...me!

At the risk of making some blog reader or YouTuber freak out! Here is what I ate today (just being transparent so you know what I'm up to with the food...remember...I can't be trusted!):

• Breakfast - Irish Oatmeal with Golden Raisins, Brown Sugar, Roasted Walnuts and Half&Half
• total calories = 327
• Lunch - Lean Cuisine Cheddar, Potatoes and Broccoli with carrots
• total calories = 255
• Snack - Celery and Peanut Butter
• total calories = 190
• Supper - Zucchini Lasagna, 1 small glass of Malbec, 1 pickle and carrots
• total calories = 380
• Snack - 1 tortilla with 1 thin slice of Gouda and a banana
• total calories = 260
• Total Calories = 1,412

Again, I didn't do anything special except eat thoughtfully and sensibly. So easy, but for a person like me, not so much! I would have loved to have worked out tonight, but it was Parent University at my son's school and I wanted to participate in that, since the subject was, "How to Raise Successful Children." You'll have to check back with me to see if I've wrecked my son or not. (i.e. Will Nancy over or under parent? Will Sloan be a contributing member of society? and etc. Stay tuned!!) The presentation was good, but it was over an hour and with cooking supper and all the other things that need to be done, I have no time tonight. Today just became my exercise 'skip' day. Okay, so be it!

The rest of the day was very busy and I loved it. Tomorrow will be much the same. I need to get on with getting ready for bed. So, until tomorrow when I'm sure I will frustrate some 'expert' somewhere by talking about the food and eating, as if you care, sweet dreams, Sweeties!!

Day 150

A beautiful day in Central Texas! Drizzle mixed with poor drivers and lots of stop lights flashing RED, made for an interesting drive to the office this morning. I just took my time and listened to talk radio, well, talk!  Since I love my work, it's all good. I had a lovely day catching up from Friday's vacation day and tomorrow will be even better. This was my second day of tracking my food and here is what I had today:

Lunch and Snack at my desk!!

• Breakfast - a Special K Breakfast Sandwich (the veggie one) w/ 1 slice of Turkey Sausage
• total calories = 300
• Lunch - Homemade Chili w/ 1 cup of Rice and Baby Carrots
• total calories = 574
• Snack - Celery and Peanut Butter
• total calories = 190
• Supper - 1/2 cup Lemon Turkey w/ 1/2 cup Rice, Steamed Broccoli, Baby Carrots and some pickles
• total calories = 250
• Snack - Glass of low-fat buttermilk
• total calories = 90
• Total Calories = 1,404

I've done well again today and stayed below the 1,500 calorie goal. I know that it is going to be a challenge overall to keep up with everything, but I can do it! I know that I can. In my opinion it's never too late to do the right thing. That's what I'm doing now; the right thing.

Exercise today has not been completed yet, but is right after this blog posting. With the drizzle I'm going to do a one mile walk with Leslie Sansone (Walk-Away The Pounds video) indoors. I think that will be fun and will take me about 20 minutes. I'll set myself up right here in front of this computer and enjoy the walk. Wish you were here with me! ;)

Nancy's Nuggets (5 things that were true about my Monday):

1. Everyone I met had value and contributed something to my story.
2. I wish I were 15 years-old again.
3. Memories are more valuable than dollars.
4. My years of experience have value only if I use them to help me learn something new today.
5. I forgive myself for being 280 lbs. today.

So, we have two weeks in a row with Nancy's Nuggets! A trend!!  We'll see if it sticks around. I'll try to be good about taking a picture of one of my meals each day. You can see I was not great at putting together the shot above and that's because I was SO hungry. I made the lunch portion a little too large and hence the large calorie count for lunch today. I made supper smaller, in order to compensate and it all works out fine. Now it's time for me to go change my clothes and get ready to walk in about 30 minutes. Until tomorrow when I'll share more of my road to renovation, sweet dreams, Sweeties!!

Day 149

You'll notice immediately that I did not write a blog entry for days 147 and 148. I've skipped them, because I can. They were uneventful except that I had a good time getting ready for the new way of things for now and into the future. I'm still working on how I will count the calories but I'm sure I'll use technology. There are so many apps out there to choose from, I just have to work out that detail. For today, I used an app called My Diet Diary. I'm not in love with it, but it counted my calories for me. So, first things first. Here is what I currently weigh in at:

280.2 lbs.

Yes, that's nearly exactly what I had estimated (I said 280) and absolutely unacceptable. I can't believe that I'm here again, but it's true.  Will I never get this right? My goal weight is:

160 lbs.

which is 6 lbs. more than all the charts say I should be. I'm sure I will have other goals, but this is my first and grand goal. So, yes, I need to lose 120.2 lbs.; that's a whole person! I'd like to do it as quickly as possible, but still remain a sane and even-tempered human being. My goal date is: January 1, 2015. To keep myself sane and human, I will allow myself an off day now and again. We'll see how it goes.

Each Sunday I will weigh and log the amount at the head of the blog and include the statistics about the weight loss. I promise to log faithfully my food and exercise each day, as well. All of this will keep me on track, because the last thing I want to do is to have to tell you that I gained instead of lost weight on any given week.

Food Log:

• Breakfast - Irish Oatmeal with Golden Raisins, Brown Sugar, Roasted Walnuts and Half&Half
• total calories = 327.7
• Lunch - Vegetable Beef Soup with 1 Chicken Jalapeño Cheese Lean Pocket with Raw Carrots
• total calories = 411.5
• Snack - Jolly Time Popcorn and Low-Fat Buttermilk
• total calories = 190
• Supper - Turkey Cheese Burger with Brussels Sprouts and a glass of Malbec
• total calories = 500
• Total Calories for the day = 1429

Exercise Log"

• Walked in the park on the trail with Sloan for 10 minutes

Overall, I feel very good about the day. I'm still eating foods that were in the freezer and was able to eat well and enjoy my food. This time of year, I love oatmeal and soup, so I had foods I really liked. That will be important as I move along through this process. I will eat lots, because I am always hungry.

I've done laundry and the walk I took with my son was outside, which is where I love to be. It's COLD today, but at least I'm not dealing with the ice they have up north in my state! So, now it's time for me to get on with the laundry and close out the weekend in time for the start of a brand new work week. So, until tomorrow when I will give you an update about what the day looked like for a person trying to lose an entire person from their frame, sweet dreams, Sweeties!!

Days 145 and 146

Okay...it is quite clear to me that at 146 days into my work to renovate me, it isn't working. A recap here: In 2008 I did a pretty good job of taking off 107 lbs. only to suffer an emergency umbilical hernia (yes, I am stupid) and after surgery to repair that I learned 10 months later that I had cancer. More surgery and recovery and **POOF** 80 lbs. back on me!! In between events we had bouts of self-loathing and lots of pissed-off Nancy-ness, which just made everything worse. That's the story in a nutshell. Fast forward to July, 2013. I decide I am now in a place (mentally) where I can do this again and maybe, just MAYBE, I can make it stick, BUT I wanted to do differently. (Stupid girl!) Well, someone slap me because I'm stupid! It ISN'T working!! Yet, I know what does. (See, I told you...stupid!!)

After a short discussion with someone unimportant to the story, it is clear that this is what works for me:

1. 1,500 calories per day, counted meticulously.
2. A meticulous food blog with transparency equal to one of Zaza Gabor's negligee's.
3. Exercise daily documented in the blog with the same transparency as with food.
4. Weigh-in on a weekly basis and report that in the blog so that everyone knows what I did and what the results were.

I know he's right, but I sure wanted to be right instead. It is so very clear to me that I have to have a pretty rigid routine and that counting calories is for me. The only thing I will do differently this time around is incorporate some opportunities to have some kind of treat now and again. I didn't to that in 2008 and I really think I will have to do that this time. It may slow me down, but I am a human being, not a machine! One of the other things I did when I had success is I limited, quite severely, meat. I ate mostly fish, vegetables, fruit and grains. Eating a mostly vegetable diet just allowed me to have more volume of the foods I could eat and thus, satisfied my TERRIFIC appetite (thank you, GOD!). So, yes, I will be starting this again.

The blog will be transformed and will contain a segment for:

• food - which will contain everything I ate during that day, including calorie counts
• exercise - what I did and for how long I did it; pictures to prove it if necessary & they may be!
• weigh-ins - yes, I will weigh in each week and post the weight in the blog **cringe**

I'm not happy right now, but I do know this is right. I'll use tomorrow and Saturday to do my preparations and get my menu planned and supplies purchased and all will start on Sunday, December 8, which will be day 149. That means I have 216 days (no, I'm not starting the day count over) to get a firm grip on myself and start getting this right. There may be loud complaining around here and I may slam a few doors for a few days, but I'll get over it. I just know this is right and I know it will work. Don't give up on me!! I will never give up!!

Now it's time for me to go on and have some fun. Until tomorrow when I hope to wake up to an icy wonderland outside, sweet dreams, Sweeties!!

Day 144

Have I explained about my issue with being overwhelmed by things? This is a problem and it seems to be getting worse as I move along through life. I'm not complaining, mind you, but I am starting to feel a bit overwhelmed by some things and I may need some help. First of all, Pinterest. I'm still not sure why I need Pinterest and what it's supposed to do for me. We won't even start the subject of how it works! For now, we'll stick to the reason I can't get my head around it. The bottom line...it's overwhelming. The first time I opened it up I thought, "Oh no! No, no, no, no, NO!! This is not for me." I shut it down and immediately walked away. Then a blogger I follow did something sneaky. She and her buddies decided to do this online "Christmas Party" thing and to play you had to subscribe to everyone's Pinterest channel...board...thingy...whatever! So, I joined and subscribed and the party is tonight and I'm going to go and play along, but all those pictures and stuff and emails!! I'm REALLY overwhelmed by it all. The images make my head spin; there are so many of them! I'm thrilled all these women have so much time on their hands to do all this stuff, but I'm real limited on what I can do here. So, we'll see how it goes, but I'm not confident Pinterest is staying around. So far, I'm okay with Instagram. I'll give an update tomorrow as the party on Pinterest is from 8-9:30pm...starts in about a half hour.

Today was busy at work. Things are heating up and I have lots of little things that I'm doing to wrap up the year. Little projects, but all good stuff. I even had some time to help out a coworker with proof reading the holiday newsletter. Yes, I was in heaven for about 15 minutes. Would love all the writing/editing they would give me. Maybe I'll get more of that for Christmas! **smile**

Today some department visiting our office from headquarters catered in barbecue for the whole office. When I left this evening I was starving for some real Texas barbecue. When Gena gets here we're having some of that! I skipped it today as I had brought my own lunch and I really hate throwing away food just because something is available that's better. It sure smelled good in there. I guess it was good for me to skip something that smelled that good. Character building...that's it...**sign**

Tonight will be the continuation of getting my house ready for company. There is always so much to do. The weather was GREAT today. As I drove home my cell phone said it was sunny and 82 degrees F. Lovely!! Friday the high will be 40 degrees and raining.  Payback is tough!! For now we'll just enjoy what we have and feel fortunate. Short blog today and not much to share, but be sure and let me know what you think about Pinterest. I need to figure it out fast or else...bye, bye Pinterest!! Until tomorrow when hopefully I will have LOTS more to share, sweet dreams, Sweeties!!

Day 143

First of all, let me just say that life is one busy thing after another! I absolutely love this time of the year, but it goes by so quickly I hardly have time to recognize all the fun I'm having before *POOF* it's gone!! At the moment I'm supposed to be cleaning my living room in anticipation of my company that will be here Friday afternoon, but instead I'm writing, which is just a WHOLE other level of fun for me. The living room isn't really a mess, but it could use some love and care. I'm hoping I can get my husband on-board with helping me out a bit. *smile*

Last night was steak night and when I say steak, I mean the only steak that's worth having and that's Prime Filet Mignon. I'm so glad you can now find prime beef in the local markets. Some people say that filet doesn't have to be prime to be good, but I do not agree. If prime beef isn't available, I'd rather have Salmon or Halibut instead. Dinner was easy as I had leftover roasted potatoes and broccolini to go with it and so here is what the plate looked like:

The wine was a really good one last night. Yes, another Malbec! Red has become my wine of choice and specifically a Malbec. So far, as long as I stick to the true Malbec of the Mendoza region of Argentina, I've not been let down. I am not a huge wine drinker, but my doctor says that red wine, in moderation, actually can be quite healthy for you. I drink about a glass of red wine a week. With all the cooking I did over the weekend we are firmly into leftover land now. I hope the family doesn't get too tired of it all!

Up until now I've been fairly cautious about social media. I recognize that this is how people get traffic to their blog, but I honestly don't see how other bloggers are keeping up. I have accounts with Instagram (see my postings in the right sidebar of this blog) and now Pinterest. Twitter I see as like a mini-blog, but it's still all about connecting with people and wow! These sites can consume all your free time just keeping them all updated and full of new content all the time. I don't even do that much on these sites and I'm already overwhelmed! I'm seriously evaluating all of the sites I'm currently a member of and looking at what it's doing for me. We'll see who stays and who goes!

Nancy's Nuggets for Monday:

• It was about 75 degrees F today...I love Austin!
• Update: the items on my 2013 52 Things List are as DONE as they are going to get.
• As soon as you paint your nails, you will chip the prettiest one! **sigh**
• In life, you will get exactly what you accept. (Chipped nail be gone! I do not accept you!!! Did it work?)
• It's impossible to help someone who doesn't know they need help! (Translation: He who doesn't know, and doesn't know he doesn't know, is forever mired in benightedness!)

Nancy's Nuggets were fun. Maybe they will be a regular on Monday's! We'll see how it goes. Now it's time to tidy this living room and then get myself to bed. I'm really tired since I didn't sleep well last night. I'm confident that tonight will be better! So, until tomorrow when we'll have to find something new and fun like 'nuggets' to introduce, sweet dreams, Sweeties!!

Day 142

Hello and happy Sunday to you! I LOVE Sunday for a whole host of reasons, but most of all, because it is the one day that I do not leave my home unless I absolutely need to for some reason. Believe me, I limit the 'need' whenever possible. I was calculating recently the number of hours I actually get to enjoy my home. During the week, assuming I sleep 8 hours, I actually get to be at home and awake a measly 6 hours a day. On the weekend, I'm out running errands most of Saturday, so Sunday is my only day to really just enjoy all that I work so hard to fund. I suppose that's just like everyone else, so I'm not complaining. I just quietly wish I had more hours at home. (Okay...that wasn't so quiet, but you know what I mean.)

Yesterday I did bake the ham I was planning to prepare and it turned out great. It was served with roasted baby gold potatoes and broccolini last night.

This was about an 8 lb. ham. I roasted it with a glaze made with brown sugar, mustard and a shot of brandy. It's delicious. I love a good ham. I carved the ham completely and used the bone to cook with my pinto beans today. Then I used a portion of the pinto beans to make chili. So, when you add it all up, we have ham, beans and chili to get us through the week. The ham will make great breakfast ham and eggs, hot ham and cheese sandwiches and ham dinner of you like. The chili will probably be frozen for use when we run low on food and the Beans will be eaten up in no time as this family loves pinto beans. With the ham inside the beans, a bowl is a whole meal! I also baked a pumpkin pie and there was enough filling for me to make myself a couple of servings of pumpkin custard (without the crust). I LOVE Pumpkin pie/custard. I'll really enjoy that this week.

Yes, cooking is really kind of heaven for me. I don't know why, but it is. Actually, it probably comes from my desire, at a young age, to be just like my Mamaw. Although my mother could cook, she was a terrible homemaker. It was Mamaw who was queen of the homemakers. Honestly, down deep inside, I always wanted to be married, with a little family and a little house, just like Mamaw. I did make that happen, but what I hadn't planned on is that I'd also be the main source of income, working outside the home. Funny how life goes, isn't it! Anyway, Mamaw wasn't impressed by the outside world; never worked outside her home.  She was loving to everyone and her house was the best place on earth. It was so clean you could eat off the floors (bless me Father, for I have sinned, my floors need mopping RIGHT NOW) and her smiling face was the shear joy. I miss her every day. It's sad that I didn't figure out how to make my life like hers, but I've done my best to be as like her as I could be. To me, she was perfect. I'm a terrible replica of Mamaw, but she inspires me still today.

Eating is more like one long snack today. We will have steak for supper tonight, except for Sloan, who loves hamburgers more. Bijan and I will have steak, leftover potatoes and broccolini and some beans. Yes, I'm still in the business of making sure everyone has at least something they like at a meal. Of course, I will eat pumpkin pie with fresh whipped cream. Oh, yes, and I'll LOVE it!

Before I end today, I wanted to share a video with you from Julia Graf. I subscribe to her on YouTube and she is going to be doing a video practically ever other day though out December! She's calling it her 'Holidaze' series. Her videos are great fun and since she's in Switzerland, she sometimes speaks in German, which is so wonderful! I'm learning lots from her. She is such an inspiration with weight loss and very creative. Be sure to enjoy the video and go subscribe to her videos on YouTube. (Not viewable on an iPhone/iPad...go to a computer!)

Isn't she just the prettiest thing ever? She's not a religious person and I respect that, but I still wish her a Merry Christmas, just like I wish the same for all of you!! It's time for me to get on with the beautiful chores of life and enjoy the rest of a wonderful Sunday. Thanks for dropping by and until tomorrow when I'll share the mysteries of another Monday in paradise, sweet dreams, Sweeties!!