Luck Be A Lady

Oh my..... losing weight has created some interesting situations in terms of clothing. I can't believe that I am having to basically clear out my closet and get new things. I'm turning back into that clothes horse I used to be 15 years ago! I had tons of things, really nice things since I was such a Nordstrom shopper back then. I gave all that up about 5 years ago thinking I'd never be able to wear those nice things again. I guess in hindsight it's better that I did. The stuff was pretty dated and clothing trends are so different now! I need to find classic pieces anyway. I have been shopping sales as well as going online to look for really good bargains. I've managed to find some great sales at Ross and Macys plus I've got a couple of great online shops that I can go crazy on when there's a sale. I just got a dress and a pair of shoes that I've been eyeballing for 50% off so I am looking forward to wearing to church or a wedding or maybe even for my

I try not to go on too much about my weight loss on this particular blog since I have a separate one for that but I just have to say how excited I am that I'm in the home stretch on my diet. The strict phase is almost done! If want to read about my ups and downs with the Ideal Protein diet, just let me know and I'll give you the link! Honestly, I'm not going to change much once I get out of phase 1 of IP. I do still have to use IP packets for another 2 weeks after phase 1 and then I go onto 'real' foods 100% including carbs (bread, dairy, pasta, etc.) again. I'm a little nervous BUT I also know how 'easy' this program was once my carb cravings stopped. I haven't had much in the way of carbs for almost 5 months and it's not been hard. I miss the idea of certain foods more than the food itself. I've actually missed the fats (cheese, bacon, butter, nuts) more and I've been allowed to have piece of bacon every now and then. I've also fo

Today is the 72nd anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor. With 9-11 and the War on Terror the freshest in our minds it's easy to forget the 'War to End All Wars' (WWI) and then to turn around in less than 20 years before worrying about WWII. Then Vietnam. And then...and then....and then....and then now. Of course, we don't forget about them. We are taught about the wars in history class. We study the cause and effect on our nation as well as the world. We see how nations and cultures are drastically affected. We see prejudice, name calling and racial profiling occur. Whole families were obliterated. Towns and countries decimated..... And yet war continues.... seems like we don't live and learn. And yet we do. Of course, when we learn about the horrors from the warmth and comfort of our living rooms, libraries or schools it doesn't always sink in. Have you ever met a Nazi concentration camp survivor and seen their tatoo? I have. You don't forget. Have

Well, I think I've scared Mark into realizing that I'm on the hunt for a new Sheltie for our family. Once I get the idea in my head that it's time I obsessively look and look at breeders, rescue groups, humane societies, etc., until I find our new family member.  Our girl Birdie was found that way..... it took about 6 months to get her.  It's been almost 8 months since we had to put her down and I realized this week how much I really, really miss having her around. I love my little Maltese boy and girl to pieces but I really like having a dog that is super smart, can herd and observe and is a good watch dog. Birdie was the dog I talked to all the time - she was that smart. She just knew what I was saying and I miss that. She'd also let me know when my oven timer was going off, when the UPS guy was here, the cat was out, etc. Such a smart girl... I just miss her so dang much I feel incomplete.  I can pretty much live without any extra frivolous stuff. I can make du

Happy Thanksgiving...well almost! It's the day before American Thanksgiving (Canadians celebrate it on a totally different day, ya know)!!!!! Still plugging away on my diet. Going to make lots of sweets that I can't eat but I am totally okay with it. Yes, I can't lick fingers, utensils or bowls but at least I have very clean hands since I constantly wash my hands to avoid the sugar. ;-) Very grateful for so many things. Especially grateful for the most loving and wonderful husband though. He is my rock and my everything. I love him more than anything/anyone and I only hope he knows how much. My pups and my cat (MY kids-LOL) too. Yeah, it's been a tough 18 months or so having lost our 3 other dogs and cat and I still miss each one of them all the time but at least I can smile when I think about them now. My friends and family are mostly distant in terms of mileage but I am grateful for them too. Our closest friends (The Delmendos) are our family here so we are

Colonoscopy DONE. Seriously, the easiest procedure I've ever done. As everyone will tell you, THE PREP IS THE WORST PART.  Having to stay by a bathroom is annoying. And seriously, when your body tells you you gotta go....you really gotta go NOW.  I don't think I've felt this clean in a long time!!!! I had to laugh because once I was sitting (well, actually laying down) on my bed with the IV in (which I won't lie...that does kind of hurt a little), everything else was a breeze.  My lovely nurses Shannon & Molly took such good care of me pre and post procedure and my nurse Andie during the procedure was awesome. So, if you've never had a procedure like this done, here's how it goes: *Nasty laxatives the day before as in drinking lots of this liquid that tastes like flat 7-Up. No real foods (only liquids) leading up to 2 hours before your procedure. *The morning of you drink the other 2 liters of your laxative starting at 6 am (I started at 5:45 becau

Well, I've been shopping online.... a LOT. I didn't realize how I was really depriving myself of fun clothes when I was bigger. I was so uncomfortable that I just bought jeans (hoping they'd fit) and t-shirts and cardigans that would hopefully cover the fat. I've been shopping way too much.... part of the problem is that you do lose weight fast on a low carb program when you follow it to a 'T'. And that's okay really! It's just tough to know how fast you shrink because some weeks your waist loses a lot, and others it's your chest, or your hips, etc., etc. I just bought some cute sweaters and cardigans from this cute boutique on the East coast and Old Navy has been seeing me a lot lately too since their t-shirts and jeans are so affordable and thank God they fit me! Since I've been brave enough to wear skinny jeans I also decided to buy boots. Now I have issues with boots because of my HUGE calves.  Fashion is definitely an issue when it com

Oh gosh..... We are having the most beautiful fall weather. I'm looking out my office window as I type this and the blue sky and the falling leaves (green, yellow, orange and red) are just stunning. I'll try to start posting pictures more since I'm using my fancy camera and found all the connectors to transfer photos! I love the fall. I love summer too but the colors this time of year in the great Pacific Northwest are just stunning aren't they? Well, I think they are. The weather has been so cool and crisp too - don't get me wrong, we've had some rainy days too but when it's clear like it is today there is nothing like it. I've seen this on the East coast too but we've got the mountains and water to look at all at the same time here in my little corner of the world and nothing beats that combination. Fall veggies are also cool.... seeing all the pumpkins and squash is just magnificent. The orange and yellows are so beautiful.  I could go on an

It's official. Old Navy is my best friend. The crazy thing about doing IP is that you never know when a piece of clothing will become too big. You have to plan to buy pants every 2-3 weeks or so. I did not believe this statistic going into the program but now that I'm almost finished with 11 weeks I absolutely believe it! I have gone down two sizes and am on the brink of slipping down another. I've already eliminated the XL out of my closets and am still wearing some larges (especially in coats since that's technically a 10/12) but I have managed to get into some medium things for the first time in years. Mark got me the cutest red wool pea-coat from Costco on Tuesday in a 'large' and it fits with heavy layers underneath so I know it will last for at least a month or so! It wasn't crazy expensive so I'm hoping I can wear it through the holidays. It's so cute!  Back to Old Navy though..... I had a ton of XL clothes from them and now need to elim

Wow.... my last show ended and I expected peace and quiet. Nope. This last weekend was crazier than normal!  Ha! So we took Mark's mom to the airport yesterday in what turned out to be one of the quickest and easiest transfers into the plane ever despite the fact that we were technically late. We always get a wheelchair and attendant for her now because she doesn't have the endurance to walk that far. The cool thing is that Alaska Airlines (my favorite) lets us get security passes to escort her to the gate so we can say goodbye and keep her company all the way onto the plane. It's weird having my house back to myself but I am grateful to have some calm and peace. I think I will start tackling some major cleaning and moving of furniture and rooms tomorrow. It seems to be time to get the house in order for the holidays and to set up Mark's recording studio. We celebrated our first Friday night without a show by staying home with Mark's mom, eating comfort food a

I was writing my diet blog and I ended it with "Who am I?" (Name that tune!) It's an interesting thing..... when you do a serious lifestyle change you start to not recognize yourself in more ways than one. I know that I've achieved some great goals as of today. I made it through another show..... it is the final day of it and I've enjoyed being a musician again. My tendonitis and carpel tunnel still like to show up to the party now and then but it's still been fun. Now I have to start prep on directing my show and I'm getting pretty excited about it. I still need to give myself a short break between this show and the next though so I can decompress and not have to worry for a couple of weeks. :-) I haven't started at WSA yet (kids are still signing up) so I'm looking forward to that. I'll write more when that starts! I went shopping for my dress to wear to a wedding next weekend and it's official that I am able to wear size 12&

Well, it's been a bizarre week for me in terms of my diet. I have been daring to almost break the rules in terms of eating but not quite. I haven't wanted a salad all week so I have had to have spinach in my shakes (which I actually LOVE) plus roasting veggies for dinner (which I also LOVE). Salad has been my mainstay though. I am at the point where if there's something interesting on it like meats, eggs, other tasty veggies I am able to eat it without dressing. Don't ask me how... it just tastes great!  But this week, I couldn't even bear the idea of a single piece of lettuce. So that was the start of the week.... Then I started wanting another grande size mug of coffee. Which meant having more of that yummy coconut creamer that I am allowed to use for one mug. I have been pushing the limits on my fats, let's just say.  And the one thing about drinking caffeine is that you have to replace that cup with another cup of water. I've been able to do that until

I always promise I won't duplicate blog postings (I have one specifically for my IP diet journey) and while it's not a duplicate, it will show something I'm really proud of today. I had a physical which means I also had to do lab work to check my glucose and check cholesterol and stuff. I was still reading high on my blood pressure unfortunately and I had to do a home check for 10 days for my doctor. It's still high on the diastolic number (the lower BP number) so I have a hunch I'm not getting of meds anytime soon. While that's a bummer, at least she's aware that my meds probably need a tweak and that's okay. Still awaiting my glucose numbers (diabetes - which I came in as full blown positive last summer) to see if I've brought that down which I know I have since IP works on the pancreas and insulin production through the cutting back of carbs (sugar). In the meantime, my cholesterol numbers arrived 24 hours after my visit to the lab. I had forg

The drought is officially over! I am finally employed....albeit, it's a very, very part time job and the job relies on me to push my services but it's doing what I LOVE. I'm officially on the adjunct faculty for West Sound Academy! I'm going to teach music (choir) and also teach private lessons there. Seriously..... this is what I've been dreaming of but never thought I could get after such a long wait. I know that it'll start out small but I'm doing what I love which is teaching music on a smaller scale. I was never meant to be in the public school system and a long time ago I realized that teaching music 5 days a week in a school setting wasn't my thing. I knew I had to be involved with music and with kids but it was hard to figure out how to get this to happen without being poor, LOL. Well, my dear friend Gretchen (we go all the way back to high school) convinced me almost 20 years ago to start teaching privately. Her daughter Siri was my first

I have to take pictures next time... all the evidence of the food is GONE. It was that good. Since I'm on a strict low carb/no sugar diet, it's been hard for me to give up certain things. Rice and pasta have probably been the worst. I want sushi in the worst way but it will still be there when I finish the first phase of my diet! It will be one of several rewards I have when I hit my goal! Anyway, the last few days I've been bombarded by Famous Dave's ads, commercials for BBQ sauce, etc., etc. I LOVE going to Famous Dave's for their chicken wings platter. Their Sweet & Sassy bbq sauce is absolute heaven for me. Well, right now that stuff is like poison which has made me really sad. It's funny to think that I would want something so much.... but then I think about it and realize it's the SUGAR ADDICT in me saying to take it. Yeah, the tang of the vinegar, the yummy tomato and spices are all terrific but it's the SUGAR I want. I really want to yell

Such a destructive power, that little Miss Jealousy. I have been slammed by it all weekend. Not me being jealous of others but others being jealous of me. I'm kind of at a loss. I've been feeling a lot of loss.... and not just in my personal body weight and body fat either. It seems like people are falling by the wayside.  I am not asking people to leave and they're not making any great efforts to walk away from me but they certainly are saying or doing destructive things toward me. I really don't know what to do. Well, in once circumstance (my MIL), I have to accept that she will never change. This is the same behavior she's shown to everyone in her family all of her life, I guess. She has no friends (well, not MY definition of friend) and most of her family basically tolerates her. My husband, one of the kindest people in this world still loves and adores her and tries so hard to break through her wall. He makes headway and then with a snap that wall is magi

I had a moment today. Well, I had a huge moment yesterday to begin with.  My MIL is staying with us  for  the summer months and we hadn't had a fight yet. Well...that changed last night. What it was about is unimportant. What it did to me, or should I say what I let it do to me was.  I was so angry at her that I told her to stop being rude to me, and that her timing of her behavior sucked. I had an opening night for a show and my mind needed to be in a good place. I also needed to eat my dinner before the show and then bring plenty of water as well as my protein shake to sustain me throughout. Well....none of the good stuff happened. I brought my salad with me but ended up having 3 or 4 bites. Did I remember the protein shake? Hell no. I was lucky to remember to bring water and to not tell her to fuck off before slamming the front door. Yeah.... not my proudest moment. I slammed my front door in anger.  What I really WANTED to do what to actually punch my fist through a wall. I

Those that know me 'really' well know that I'm Catholic. I guess it doesn't matter if someone does or doesn't know that. I just hope they know I'm a believer in God - at least through my actions and deeds. I have been praying a lot lately. Well, for years actually. About much of the same thing too. I knew I had been battling a raging depression for quite some time and I thought I was praying about it. I realize I was not truly praying for what I want. Don't get me wrong, what I was asking for was a real thing. It just dawned on me after I got a perfect email from my darling husband early this morning I was praying for the wrong thing.  I have been asking for something very specific - an actual tangible item that can be held in my hand. That's really not how I'm supposed to pray. Now I've never claimed to be a good Catholic. In fact, I'm probably a mediocre one at best. I have tried other faiths but none have ever provided me with the comf

Well, I spent a good part of my early afternoon, reorganizing my side of the closet (Mark's side is tomorrow!).  I went through almost every item and tried them on and made a decision whether to keep or give away. I must have done well because I pulled at least 20 hangers out of there. I'm actually wearing pants that I haven't worn in 3+ years! This is an awesome feeling! Closet shopping is a pretty cool thing. I will have to do it again, probably in about 2 weeks to see if the pants that I felt were too tight are okay or are they just the wrong cut for me no matter how much weight I lose? It should be fun. I know I'll have a heck of a lot more room in that closet as soon as I can shift down another size! Speaking of which, when that happens I will officially have to go out an buy a new wardrobe! All I have left are the size I'm wearing in my closet with the exception of 2 pairs of jeans I purchased from Old Navy just so I would have pants as I lose this weight, L

This is gross, yet fascinating. Lots of women have a disgusting and gross fascination with the body and its excretions. Seriously.  I'm one of those weirdos that gets joy out of popping zits and squeezing blackheads....yup, I'm sick and twisted but I love it. IF this is TMI for you I won't be offended....just so you know I'm talking about ear wax. If that's still too gross for you, don't read. Otherwise, the next few paragraphs are all about my ears and wax. So I had my yearly physical yesterday and everything except my blood pressure (which I expected to be high) and my diabetes numbers were normal. Since I haven't had a glucose test in a year, my doc wanted to do another blood test so I'll be doing that tomorrow and hoping that my new weight loss and very clean diet (no sugar!) has all but eliminated my high glucose numbers. I'm actually banking on it. So, the only other comment (besides, "oh we need to schedule a colonoscopy!") w

WARNING: there are a few rough swear words in this so if you're offended, don't read. I know I'm trying to keep my diet blog separate from this one but because this is more commentary as opposed to posting facts and figures about my diet for the week, I think it's okay that I blather on about a few things related to this journey I've started. So at my last weigh in (yesterday), I ended up losing 5 lbs and 3.5 inches but I went up about 2 percent in my body fat. Well..... that's an interesting thing, isn't it? The one steady thing that had been happening on my diet was that my body fat was ticking in a downward trend these past 4 weeks. Yesterday, it jumped 2 percent overnight.  That, my dear friends is the results of hormones. I want to scream sometimes when someone mentions that damned word. It's what makes us who we are of course but why in the hell does it have to screw with our body fat readings on a $5000 scale? So yeah, I have an amazing and

So in my quest to finally get healthy and lose all the excess fat on my personage I realized a couple of things. When I jump on a band wagon I go whole hog. I am obsessive so I can become obnoxious. I realized that people need to find their way to their rock bottom on their own. I can't keep telling them how great I'm feeling or that I've lost almost 15 lbs and it's because I started this amazing program.  I also discovered some people are jealous. Some of these people aren't necessarily sabotaging me but they are very loud with their silence.  Others are critical of the program for one reason or another. I'm not worried that it will slow me down. I am a freaking freight train when it comes to something I believe in. No one can stop me from succeeding except myself. I do have a firm belief in God so I know I have faith on my side to help me believe in myself. It is interesting to see the resistance now that I'm on 'that' side. I was one of thos

So while I am on a very restricted diet (low carb, no dairy, NO sugar) I have become hyper aware of how strong certain foods and chemicals affect us. I am amazed first and foremost at how I am not craving sugar or diet soda. I was never one of those people who could have 'just one' cookie or 'just a bite' of that dessert. God help me, if brownies were made I was eating a third of the pan in one sitting!  It's not the chocolate we're craving here, it's the sugar. Our pancreas (well, more specifically MY pancreas) has been working overtime for years. I was pre-diabetic (what a stupid term) for a while but I did nothing to curb my sugar consumption. How could I? Sugar is an addictive substance. Hey drug dealers, don't use heroin, coke or meth to get people under your control. Use sugar instead! It's just as addictive AND it causes people to get fat, sick and die! Yeah, I know.... a little too much.  I'm not saying I don't love sugar because

Yeah, it's pre-season for football but I really do love baseball and it's getting to the dog days of summer and the World Series so whatev...... ;-) But my reference is one about my personal feelings. I've always been really hard on myself. I have always felt that the 'prize' was always just within reach but my short arms are constantly just a little too short. I've had LOTS of great things in my life, don't get me wrong but you know how it is to "covet thy neighbors' goods." right? I hit a milestone birthday and it feels like this has been my year to dig deep and learn who I really am and what makes me tick. I have made mental pros/cons lists about me and I knew it would be time to start figuring out how to be a happier and healthier me so the 'rest' of my life would be one of quality and not of chaos (which tends to follow me - and only because I let it!). I finally had my own 'come to Jesus' meeting with myself about my

I decided to start writing a separate blog about my diet journey with Ideal Protein. Still using Blogger but it'll just be a different page. This way I can use my normal blog for all subjects and people can choose whether or not to read about diet struggles. I am really proud of myself. It's not been super difficult to do this diet thank goodness. I haven't cheated in 12 days and I'm still going strong. I will openly admit that the last couple of days I've felt hungrier so I've tried to drink more water when that happens. Sometimes, the hunger goes away. Sometimes, it doesn't but on those bad days I usually start a project and my hunger usually quiets down for at least an hour. Yesterday, I chose to actually move on to the next meal or snack to get my stomach to just stop bothering me. I am having a hunger moment as I type, mainly because I was working in the yard and I expended a lot of energy. I really should eat dinner right now but I can't. Oh we

I felt a real urge to write even though I only have minutes before I have to dash out to the dentist (YUCK x 10) for a teeth cleaning which in my case requires novacaine and serious 'planing' from the dental hygenist. I can't remember, but I might be getting a cavity filled today as well.  Gross! Oh well... if I have had one health problem haunting me my entire life, it is my teeth. I guess that's better than lots of other things!  At least we're working towards complete preventative maintenance. It'll get there at some point! Brief update about the diet: I'm holding strong and finding out all kinds of things about myself. I am up to a 9.2 lbs loss according to my digital scale but won't consider it official until I weigh in this coming Saturday at the office. Still, if it is correct I'm happy!  A loss this early is mostly water but it's water I was holding onto. I know it would probably have shown more but I had to take my last meal (technical

Just making myself very accountable here.... I tend to get very gung ho when I start a project, i.e., hobby, class, diet, workout, show, etc. I have lots of plans and hopes at the beginning of these ventures which I'm totally happy about since it shows I am more of an optimist than I give myself credit for. I just get concerned because I always say "I'm going to do 'this" and then my inherent nature is to give up, get distracted, take on too much so I'm too tired, etc., etc.  You know the drill, right?  I do take on too much stuff. Even now, I am a walking billboard for taking on too much. My mind needs to be on so many projects - why can't I say NO to some of them?  Ugh...... Anyway, I'm really planning to stick this new lifestyle & diet out for the rest of my life. I cannot believe how my cravings for sugar are gone. Granted, the pre-packaged items that come on the diet include sweets (including the yummy chocolate caramel nut bar I had this

So I made a serious decision about my health since I've got jaw surgery coming up within the next 2-6 months (depends on my orthodontist's okay). Mark and I tried Nutrisystem last summer and we both managed to lose about 10-16 lbs (my max was 13 at one point). The food really stinks by the way. I don't care what anyone says.  After 3 months, we both hit the wall. We joined the Y in hopes of exercising and getting some more poundage off. I checked into Ideal Protein while we were deciding whether or not to proceed with Nutrisystem and while I felt the medical science part of it was sound it just seemed to pricey for us.  Well, fast forward a year: we dropped the Y because we just weren't using it and it was a huge financial drain when Mark wasn't working and while I managed to cook at home to save big bucks (which I did!) it really affected our weight. I gained everything I had lost plus 4 more pounds! I'm telling you, being this overweight just p