On the road again...

I'm in Eau Claire to start another week of stomping around the countryside. Last night Steve and I went to dinner at his friend Joe's house (Actually Steve works for Joe at Nestle but they've known each other for years so they're more like friends. His wife, Camille, cooked us a great meal. Fun people! This morning after I drove Steve is work at Nestle Nutrition, I did my exercise video (I'm sure the room below me appreciated that!), hit the breakfast buffet, and now I'm going to check out the pool and hot tub area. I should be working of course but I can never resist the pool. After that, my plan is to get out and about - the bank, a cute little antique store I spied on my way into town, and groceries for the road trip cooler. We start the second leg of our journey this evening on our way to Malvern, Arkansas where Steve is scheduled for some work at Flakeboard America. We figure it will take 14-16 hours to get there. No clue what a girl can find to do in Malvern but I'll let you know. Well, I'm off! I'll bring my camera just in case I spy anything super cool.

Funny Niya!

Niya finally got a chance to use her roller skating stuff. She was so funny. Between her rubber legs, her rubber arms and her rubber ankles, I'm surprised she wasn't bouncing down the road. Sadie and I pulled her down the road as she tried to keep her legs under her. She was actually pretty content to sit in the sun in the middle of the road and check out her skates and pads - luckily we live on a dead end with little traffic. In the end, Sadie ended up carrying her most of the way home because she refused to take off her new gear but didn't want to skate either. I thought she was hilarious - she didn't find it very funny.

Sausage Making Party

It was a great time on Friday and Saturday getting together with family and friends to make deer sausage. Actually, there was a little time spent making sausage and a lot of time spent just hanging out and having fun. Some of the days events included: Frisbee, football (first the football got stuck in the tree and then Ashley got stuck in the tree), sharky-larkey, cribbage(Grandpa kicked everyone's butt!), and bon fire. Our friend Dan came over with a massive leaf sucker machine and cleaned up the whole yard (AWESOME!). After I went to bed, I heard a lot of people running around in the dark playing a late night game of Sardines! The party continues today as we finish up smoking and wrapping the sausage.

Welcome Tanner!

What a wonderful few days it's been! Watching your children have children is quite something. It's a happy time for our whole family and we're very excited for Paul and Heidi. Tanner is a great baby - a real mellow fellow - but with his layed back parents, I wouldn't expect him to be any different.

After many hours of labor, Heidi was getting worn out and frustrated, but she regrouped and finish the delivery with calm, concentrated effort. . . and then there was JOY!

Weigh in Update

I need to update my Weigh-in tally - - there were 5 pounds total lost this last week! I'm not sure who lost them but it's AWESOME! I weighed myself this week at Heidi's house and was 202. That's 1 pound up from last week but it might be the difference in scales. I'll be heading home on Friday and hope to get into the swing of things and check things out with my scale. The good news is that I've been trying to drink a lot of water and eat healthy portions including lots of fruits and veggies. I miss my exercise routine and have been trying to walk but haven't done much of that either. Keep up the good work everyone and we'll see what happens next week on Weigh-In Wednesday!

Warm Hands Warm Heart

As I was researching some relaxation techniques, I came across this and thought it was very interesting. I ended up trying this out. I'll tell you the results at the end, but first the relaxation part:

Supposedly, you can learn how to warm your hands with your brain by directing your thoughts to warming images like putting your hand in front of a fire. The image I used was sitting on a hay bail around a crackling bon fire and picturing the colorful flames and me holding my palms out towards it( the more vivid the images the better). My thoughts even wandered toward my knees getting too hot like they tend to do when you're by a firepit. When you do this your body is supposed to go into a relaxed state. I tried this right before I went to sleep and my usually cold hands turned nice and toasty warm - tingly almost. Interesting!

Now, what to do with these warm hands you ask? How about using them to build closeness and trust in your relationships! Whoa...really? Sounds like magic hands to me. Try this experiment- I did. As you hold your partner's (or your child's hand) imagine warm, loving energy going from your hand into theirs. Each time you exhale, send warm and intentional thoughts of love and gratitude. If you do this regularily, you will see positive results in your relationship. When I tried this experiment on Steve (and I make it a rule never to tell the guinea pig they're being experimented on) he mentioned THREE times that my hands were super warm. After a couple of minutes he just started blabbing about his day and how it went, etc. This is the guy who normally would have come home from 16 hour day too tired to do more than shower and hit the hay with a one word mumbled conversation of "nite". Granted, the experiment results could have been affected by the fact that I was busy concentrating on my new magic hands and not talking his ear off about my day. Either way, I'm going to try this a few more times, if for no other reason than to see if I can mess with my dear hubby's mind!

Drumroll Please...

The first Weigh-in Wednesday results are in .....Cassie, Kimmy,Amanda and I have lost 13.6 pounds so far! Yeah! Keep on trying everyone! Remember, the numbers don't always tell the whole story so even if you didn't get any pounds tallied this week, keep on moving and eating healthy and we'll see you back here next week for Weigh-In Wednesday!!

201!

Yep...201! I'm down 3 pounds for the week. Quite honestly I feel like I worked really hard for each pound. It's been a week of changes for me and my body is still adjusting. I started by reducing my coffee to one cup a day - killer the first 3 days but now manageable. After 2-3 trips to the grocery store, the refridgerator is stocked with healthy food choices. I've been taking a multivitamin and a few other suppliments(flax, fish oil, extra calcium and vitamin C) to help me get healthier and reduce cravings. As far as exercise goes, I've been walking much more than usual and I've also thrown in my Turbo Jam workout program. I did Turbo Jam for three weeks in December and had started seeing some results but then I fizzled over the holidays and through my vacations. I really love the workouts and they kick my butt every time. I hope everyone's week went well! If you have lost pounds, please tally it on our board. If not, don't be discouraged! Today is a new day... and so is tomorrow... and the day after that! Take some advice from Dora - "just keep swimming, just keep swimmng ...

Changing of the Guard

Today I went to town with Mom and Dad, aka Grandma and Grandpa Huesmann, to pick out the spices and order the pork for making this year's deer sausage. Our family has been getting together to grind, mix, stuff, smoke and package our own venison sausage since before the beginning of time. When my sisters and brother were young, we could help mix the spices into the meat. This is still a favorite of the grandkids. As you got older, you could start catching the sausage as it came off the stuffer, or tie the ends together to make the rings. Cranking the stuffer has always been left to the strong armed boys of the family. If you team up a smooth cranker with a good catcher, followed by a fast tier - well it just runs like a well oiled machine. After all that busy work is done, it's time to hang the sausage in the smoker, crack open a beer, and wait.( The smoker is an old refrigerator with some oven controls mounted on it to regulate the heat. We've named it "The Smokin' Stovinator".)

Dad has felt, for the last couple of years now, that it was time to pass the responsibility on to the next generation. ( You know I didn't think much about it until just now as I'm typing this but I'm getting a little misty.) It's the end of an era in our family really...but all things change...time marches on ...(sigh)

Of course Mom and Dad will both be here this year right in the thick of things, sharing the knowledge, the work, the laughs and the beer. Between the kids, grandkids, and now even the great-grandkids helping out, it will take all of us to fill their shoes and carry on this great family tradition.

The 2009 photos above shows Mom and Lindsey adding that "special" ingredient - Blatz Light - that makes our sausage the very best!

Busy Day

The day started with a call from my sister, Cassie, asking if I wanted to go walking with her. She has started her training for the Susan G. Komen 3-day walk coming up in August. It's a big undertaking that includes training and fundraising. Best of luck to her! We walked for 2.5 miles and it was a great way to kick off a beautiful Monday morning.

The rest of the day I spent with Jada and Niya shopping. We went to Walmart, Borders, Target, Costco, the bank, and McDonalds -with a Playplace, of course. I wanted to get the girls some rollerskates, which we found at Target, along with all the protective gear. By the time we got home both the girls were too pooped to skate much - but there will be more wonderful, sunny days for that. We cooked supper, went for a walk, played on the swings and watched a new Barbie movie. Now that I've listed it all the fun things we did, it's no wonder sitting here with my feet up feels so good...

Moderation

Let me get the complaining out of the way right away and be done with it.
Caffeine withdrawal is not fun. - Yesterday I cut down to 4 cups throughout the day to manage the whopper headache I was having from not having my usual pot and a half of coffee. There - I'm done!

Why am I doing this coffee reduction? First of all, common sense tells me that no one needs that much coffee every day. I've also been having some trouble sleeping so it seemed like a logical place to start. This morning I've had 1-1/2 cups so far - I'll see how today goes - headache is much less today! My goal is "Everthing in Moderation" and there are a lot of "everythings" I need to moderate - I decided to start with coffee.

10 Reasons to limit caffeine: (according to "Change Your Brain, Change Your Body"**)
1. Restricts blood flow to the brain( leads to premature aging)
2. Dehydrates the brain (slower thinking)
3. Interferes with sleep
4. Addictive in high amounts(withdrawal=headache,fatigue,irritability)
5. Can accelerate heart rate and raise blood pressure.
6. Can make you jittery and nervous.
7. Increases muscle tension.
8. Can cause upset stomach.
9. Elevates markers for inflamation and heart disease(just 2 cups)
10. Interferes with fertility

Pretty sure all apply to me accept #10 of course. There are some good things that caffeine can do for you too so I'm not eliminating it, just takin' it down a notch!

**Update on the new book I got: It's not a light read, that's for sure. It focuses on the physiology of the brain (not your mind -although they can't really be separated)and how certain chemicals and behaviors can hurt or enhance the physical functioning of your brain then in turn how that affects your body. Taking it a step further - how to change your behaviors that give you the body you have by changing the chemicals in your brain( through a variety of ways like food, exercise, stress reduction, etc.) I love this kind of stuff but it might not be everyones cup-o-cappuccino!

It's a Great Day!

Very excited to get this book today. This guy was on PBS last night and he was so interesting, I was inspired to get this. It was either that or donate $365 to PBS and get it and some other stuff for free. Don't get me wrong, I love PBS but I gotta have some limits. Anyway, I can't wait to start reading it.

Also, while I was out and about, I had lunch with some wonderful ladies, Nola and Chrissy, who I love dearly. We had lunch at "Mongo's" at Arbor Lakes - very nice and you get to pick out your own food before they cook it so it's great when you're trying to watch the waist. I laughed all of my mascara off while we were catching up! Also... like the cherry on top of my delicious sunae of a day, I'm getting picked up by another awesome lady, Brenda, to go to Bunko tonight. If I get the most bunko's and win a prize...well I just don't know what I'll do! I don't think life could get much better today!

And They're Off!

204! Yep... that's the starting point...this time! I've been as high as 220 and as low as 150...and that's just in the last few years. It's just a point of reference after all and only one small part of getting into a new and improved shape! Check out the new poll-taking gadget(widget?) thingy I added. I'm impressing myself with my techno savy ways. I don't know if it will work, but here was my thought.... I have 6 ladies so far that want to track their weight loss with me so when they check out my blog, they can enter the pounds they've lost and we can all watch them tally up together. Try it this week and see how it works. I think I won't put my pounds lost on here until next Wednesday....but some people might weigh more often...whatever you want to do is fine. Sadie was at 238 this morning...Thanks for doing this with me Sadie!
Also....I thought of another eating healthier essential that I love...Egg Beaters! If you've never tried them you should.

Swimming Fun

Take a look at the two water bugs I went swimming with last night. It was a great way to get the body moving and have a lot of fun at the same time. Just holding onto Saniya as she wiggled her way through the water gave my arms quite a workout. Also, her little chicken legs go a million miles an hour. She was very proud that she could dunk herself under water and is working on holding her mouth shut. She did a pretty good job of it most of the time but I'm sure she swallowed her fair share of water. Jada was practicing her swimming also. She does a mean dog-paddle and is starting to keep herself afloat. She loves the water, especially doing cannonballs! It goes without saying that my laughter quota was met for the day - it always is when I hang out with my girls!

What's up? Flamingo Rodeo!

"Flamingo Rodeo" is a theme that Heidi came up with for Countryfest 2010. She's got some awesome nicknames picked out for this year's campers and I'm already collecting campsite decorations - anything cowboy or flamingo. I know June seems long way off, but it will be here before we know it. This year there will be 12-13 ladies coming for five days of country music, camping, laughing, and FUN! Just thinking about it makes me happy.

I'm hoping to be a little lighter in my boots this year so I can dance a little longer, wander a little farther .........and fit into some hot butt jeans!
Here's a link to check out this year's lineup:
http://www.countryfest.com/index.cfm?event=artist

What's up? Eating healthier!

It's time to get into shape - my typically pear shaped body is morphing into an apple. I've been thinking of how and when to start - trying to get into a good state of mind - and I'm finally there.

I went grocery shopping this morning and bought the supplies I need to eat healthier. I've done this enough times to know what helps me stay on track. Here are three things I must have:

1) lemons- I slice and freeze it so it's always available in my freezer to add to my water. I'm not a fan of plain water and tend not to drink much unless I lemon it up

2) snack bars- The ones I bought today are around 150 cal and 5-7 g of protein

3) fresh fruits and veggies- This requires me to go grocery shopping more often (aauugghh)but ya gotta do what ya gotta do! I'm making some fresh salsa today -yum!

This part is new - I'm going to start "Weigh-In Wednesday". Each Wednesday morning I'll weigh myself and post my results here. Sadie said I can post her weight loss on here also. I'm hoping this accountability will help me stay on track. Amanda's blog "New Year...New Me...Diet Details" has inspired me to blog about my weight loss journey. Honestly, I've been down this road so many times it's bordering on ridiculous! Might as well do it one more time and I'm sure it will help to have friendly faces traveling with me!

Skater Dude

I didn't know what to put out there as my first blog soooo...I grabbed my camera and went for a walk to get some fresh springtime air, work up a sweat, and maybe see something blogworthy. I wore my snowmobile boots, not so much for warmth , because the sun was warm enough to cause a river of water down the length of my driveway, but to keep my feet dry. I started by wandering into the woods following deer trails when they presented themselves. I used to do this all the time when I was younger, maybe early teens, trying to see if I could get lost but trusting that I would always emerge from the woods in a familiar place-which I always did. I guess it comes from living in the same spot for forty years.

Eventually, I made my way across the road and onto the trail that leads toward the Rum River. The trail to get there has meandered a little bit more with the passing years as the mature oaks die and fall across the path, but the view of the river looked as it always has. Flowing water was visible along a lot of the shoreline with a shallow coating of water over most of the ice. I was hoping to see a deer or some other peaceful scene but the only wildlife I saw were three crazy snowmobilers racing north up the river. I was thinking I could blog about them and how it seems like a stupid thing to do, but frankly I lack passion on the subject. I would never ride a snowmobile in that situation but hey...they probably do it all the time and know more about river ice safety than I do so whatever!(as I was sitting here typing, I heard some machines returning south so I bet they're just fine)

Well to make a long story even longer, I decided to start for home so I tried to retrace my steps- literally. Placing my boots in the tracks I had made to get there seemed like a good idea but in practice but doesn't work that great. When you're putting your toe where your heel was and your heel wants to slide back to where your toe was, your weight shifts unexpectedly and before you know it you're toppled over! I suppose I could have backed myself down the trail but I didn't think of that at the time and I'm sure it would have presented a whole new set of issues anyway.

I finally made it out of the wood and had just stepped onto the road...when there he was- Skater Dude! He was headed in the same direction as I was but because I had popped out of the woods behind him, he had no idea I was there. He may have heard my commotion because he was stopped at the top of the hill in front of me, peering intently into the woods. At first I thought he was checking out the empty house to his right, which I hate to say made me wonder if he was a hoodlum planning some shinanigans. He started rolling down the hill away from me so I started following him - well... really I had to go that way back to my house anyway. That's when the show started!

As Skater Dude gained speed down the hill, his steps became more animated, swaying right and left. Pretty soon he was raising his arms with dramatic flare before throwing himself into a low shuddering bow. This was followed by a big spin with his leg and arm flying out to the side. I thought for sure he would see me when he spun around but he was lost in his moment of skating glory! It was HILARIOUS! It reminded me of my long retired ice skating routine I did to "Hey Diddle Diddle" on a frozen mud puddle in my yard. I hope he felt half as fabulous in his mind as I had in mine( I did a half turn with a leg lift as "the cow jumped over the moooon!"). As I laughed at him, I laughed at myself...and it felt great.