Thinking Out Loud #8

This time last week most of us were getting ready for Thanksgiving.  I can’t believe that a week has really slipped by me since then.  It doesn’t feel like a week.  Maybe because there were three additional days of eating Thanksgiving leftovers! There are still some in the fridge, but they’re all turkey related so those are for Ralph.  But here I am again, ready to be part of Thinking Out Loud hostessed by Amanda at Running With Spoons. I’m not really sure what’s on my mind, but that never stops me, does it?!?

~This has not been my favorite week.  There’s been a lot of rain, which never makes me happy.  I’m much sunnier when the weather is sunnier. It’s one of the reasons why I need to NOT be in New Jersey, but that’s a topic for another day. The next couple of days are expected to be dry, if not sunny.  I can deal with that.  Just no rain please.  I try hard to work around it, but the weather can have very negative effects on me.  I suppose I should be grateful…my life is so much better than last year this time.  Ok…I’ll stop complaining.

~Some household issues have been a huge pain.  They are ongoing and unresolved as I write this.  Everything is falling apart.  Gotta love living in a Very old house.  Things will work out eventually but for now they’re making me very cranky.

~I’m trying to get some Christmas spirit, but every time I take a step forward I seem to go back by one.  Little things like buying a present for someone and then finding out the person already has it.  Ugh!!  Have to put my thinking cap back on.  I’m just not good at this anymore.  I’ll get there though.  I keep trying and I guess that’s what matters.

~One thing that Is making me happy and feel good right now is exercise.  I mentioned a few weeks ago that I joined the gym.  I’m loving the whole process.  I go with my two best  friends most days but I will even go when they can’t go or if our schedules conflict.  I’ve been there three times this week and I think we’ll be going today.  I even thought about going on Thanksgiving morning but changed my mind. The surprising thing is…I thought about it!!  I also found out about something called #mileaday from my friend Kristen at ok,enjoy. She got it from another blogger.  The idea is that starting on Thanksgiving and throughout the Holidays, try to log one mile a day.  As she says in her post, it’s not a lot but it’s a start.  I think for so many of us we have No Idea how much activity we get or don’t get.  This is a start and for those of us who tend to over indulge during the Holidays and then say they need to start doing something after January 1, you’ll already be started.

 

I don’t use any of those fancy fitness trackers…well not at the moment anyway. I am thinking about one.  For now I just use my plain old pedometer and it works well.  It tracks my steps both regular and aerobic and gives me the mileage.  I’ve tracked a mile everyday even on my non-gym days so that makes me happy.  Some days I’ve had to resort to marching in place while watching TV but that’s ok, I still get it in.  I think that anything that makes you aware of what you’re doing or not doing is a good thing.  Besides, it’s fun and I have to keep thinking to find fun ways to post it on Instagram.  I can’t just always show my sneakers!

There you have Thinking Out Loud this week.  I started out a little cranky and grumbley but I turned it around. Be sure to check out Running With Spoons to see what everyone has on their minds.

Happy Thursday!

 

WIAW~Surviving Thanksgiving

Can’t believe it’s Wednesday already and time for What I Ate Wednesday, the fun and drool worthy link up hostessed by Jenn at Peas and Crayons.  But it is and here I am again going on and on about what I ate.  I love to see what everyone has been eating, especially after a Holiday.  Here’s my contribution!

Of course it was Thanksgiving.  So many people dread this Holiday, it seems.  Probably because more than any other Holiday, it revolves around food.  Other members at my Weight Watchers meeting on Saturday were so worried about how to approach it.  That’s actually always seems to be the topic at WW on the week before Thanksgiving: How To Cope With Thanksgiving.

Believe me, I’ve been through many Thanksgivings where I was over the top, over indulged and over stuffed.  I know it’s an issue for a lot of people.  I felt in control and on track this year and I was proud of myself.

I started with a regular breakfast of an egg substitute omelette which always keeps me full for a while.  Dinner was planned for 1 pm so I knew I’d be Ok until then.

My sister Ele and I always work on the dinner together and we had a really good time.  One of my jobs is making the succotash.  It’s not something that everyone likes, but almost everyone in our group likes it.  Personally, I LOVE it!

I joked that this was mine and I didn’t know what anyone else would be eating. I probably could have eaten the entire thing if given the opportunity but I didn’t!

There were pies, yes, but I was restrained with them.

 

I had a piece of the apple, home-made by our friend, Jim and just a tiny sliver of the coconut custard.  Both were yummy.  There was also a pumpkin but I passed on that…had to pass on Something!

The main attraction…

 

Dinner:  mashed potatoes with vegetarian gravy, green beans, Ele’s home-made cole slaw (From Grandmom’s recipe) and of course, Succotash!!  At the top is a piece of the cranberry orange jello mold I make every year.  Also a favorite.  It was all delicious and I have to confess that I did have seconds on mashed potatoes, second time around topped with Succotash!  I’m starting to think I should title this post “WIAW~Succotash!”

It was a great day and we had a lot of fun as we always do.  That’s my Thanksgiving, now let’s go see what everyone else had on their favorites list.  Be sure to check out Peas and Crayons to see what’s going on!

Happy What I Ate Wednesday!