Boring days are just needed sometimes!

I had a pretty boring day yesterday!  I worked around the house and made one trip to the store.  How exciting is that?

Sometimes those boring days are just what is needed.  Housework is caught up, food was cooked and I rested a bit.  Got things ready for our trip.  So, all is well!

Since it was a boring day, I won't bore you with all the minute details!

I am on day 17 of the Reset.  I am feeling more energy, sleeping better (finally) and am not starving as much this week, so far.

My food for yesterday:

fruit plate

big ol' salad

curried cauliflower and steamed kale - YUM!

My cravings are MUCH better this week so far.  I am still ready for a healthy brownie :)

When I am finished this weekend,  I will post my favorite recipe.  It might be hard for me to choose.  So far I think the zucchini cashew soup is the winner!

I'm having a bit more exciting day today!

Being good ain't so easy

This weekend was a tough one!  First of all, the internet at the lake is so sporadic, I couldn't upload any photos, so I just decided to wait and post here after I got home!

We had a GREAT weekend, but sticking to my Ultimate Reset plan was a bit harder than I thought it would be, but I DID IT!  Being good ain't so easy!

This was the sky on our sunset cruise. Absolutely beautiful!

Friday morning we started off with a canoe trip on the lake.  Don't worry, we didn't go very far, but we had a good time.  Brian and I didn't even fall in!!  We did go longer than the last time and I felt it a little on Saturday!

Jake and Morgan canoed over the weekend too, Hurley couldn't stand that they had gone without him, so he just followed along....  They stopped and put him in the boat, poor guy!

Friends came on Saturday and we spend the majority of the day just hanging out on the deck.  Our deck is perfect for a lot of people to hang out!  Brian enjoyed his new chair, I enjoyed a nap in the hammock and there was a LOT of good conversation.  We also had a good boat ride and the girls enjoyed themselves too!

Brian didn't have any problem taking this group of beautiful girls out on the boat!

Working hard or hardly working?????

Better yet, why are we working at the lake????

 Sunday, more people came and we had a cookout.  This is where things got a little harder.  If you read my blog often, you know how much I LOVE my chips, salsa and guac.  I didn't have ANY!  Instead I drank my water and stuck with the plan.  I prepared my food ( there is a LOT of that in the UR) but otherwise it wasn't so hard.

Sunset cruise - laid back lake life!

My dear friend Lisa!

   

The only off-plan menu item I had was adding some fresh watermelon or strawberry to my lime water.  It was so refreshing.

I took fresh watermelon, stevia drops, lime and a touch of apple juice or water and added it to my lime water.  Super easy to do.  I mixed it all up in the Ninja, added ice to make it slushy and  - VOILA - similar to a margarita, but no alcohol!  It made it easier to be around everyone else enjoying their adult beverages!  For the cookout, I just made extra succotash and steamed kale for everyone to try and enjoy.  They were both good and a few even asked for recipes!  I'd say that is a good thing!

Yesterday was another lazy morning, we left late morning to head to the hospital to see my mother-in-law.  She is doing as well as can be expected.  We did attend an Alzheimer's meeting on Friday and it was a bit of an eye-opener.  Please keep her in your prayers!  I'd so appreciate it.

When we got home the kids were all hanging out at the pool and having a good time.  I got to see my Mads and of course the kids, so it was a good time!  They were having sno-cones and Madelyn was purple...  she really enjoyed hers!

This is some of my food from the weekend, I did take photos of all the meals, but I'm not going to post them all.

Big salad and squash soup

Succotash and steamed kale

Fruit plate for breakfast 

Week 2 is over and I am down another 2 1/2 lbs and another 2 inches.  Total loss so far - 5 lbs and 4 inches and 1 1/2% body fat.  That may not seem like much to anyone, but I am at my goal weight now and my body fat % has been stuck for 3 years.  So this is HUGE for me!

I'm loving it - I guess being good ain't so easy, but being good is paying off!!

Fail to plan or plan to fail

Planning is key to staying on track with your diet and exercise plan.  Oh, you don't have one?  Well, that would be the first plan to get in place!  It doesn't have to be hard or complicated.  Just set aside time each day to get in a quick workout ( 30 mins is best, but get what you can with YOUR schedule), and eat more fruits and veggies, drink your water.

While doing the Ultimate Reset, planning has been KEY!  I am halfway through my second week and if I didn't plan in advance, I would be failing for sure!

This weekend is going to be hard!  We are having friends to the lake and I will be sticking with my meal plan.  They will not be eating the same foods, I am sure of that! LOL!

So, what is MY plan for success this weekend?  PREPARE, PREPARE, PREPARE!  I am making as much food in advance as possible.  I will spend most of the day Friday cooking and getting my meals together. I will pack it all and haul it with me.  No big surprise there,  I am toting food and supplements everywhere I go anyway, it will just be a bigger bag!

So, what is needed to tote all this food around?  I have a soft sided cooler, ice packs and a LOT of containers.  I just use plastic containers, it works for me.  Easy to clean and if one breaks, inexpensive to replace. For this weekend, I am sure I'll be using a BIG cooler!

So this is going to be hard with friends around, good food and I'm sure some adult beverages, but I plan to have my subs in place.  No margaritas for me this time around, I'll just have my lime water over shaved ice.  Works perfectly, right?

I will struggle with sweets.  I've been craving brownies like crazy.  In the past, if I was having a MAJOR chocolate craving, I could use my chocolate shakeology, but we aren't having that on the reset, so I'm just going to have to do something to distract my mind:  go for a walk, brush my teeth ( this one works best for me), read, anything to occupy my mind....

I am going to do my best and forget the rest as they say.....

Day 3, Phase 2 eats:

Fruit plate - breakfast

big salad and sweet potato soup - lunch

quinoa pilaf and broccoli - dinner

Remembering

Do you Remember, do you remember
All of the times we had
Do you remember?

I love that song....

Yesterday was a day for remembering.  It was also a day for moving forward.

A friend and I walked in the Unity Walk in Joplin.  Dee was such a super helper after the tornado to so many people.  She worked tirelessly and encouraged her kids to do the same, so I was honored to be able to walk with her!  So many people gave everything they had to help others.  I will never forget the Spirit of Joplin and the whole country.

It was HOT!  I am on limited calories.....  I downed a snack right before we started our walk.  I am so glad that I did.  I needed it to get through the walk.  I was AMAZED at all the people.  It was crazy.  I am hoping that I will see some overhead shots of everyone walking.  It was truly uplifting.  We had people cheering us on, handing us water and offering snacks.  Most were businesses, but some were just people that had been affected by the tornado and wanted to show their appreciation.  One family sat out by the road with a table full of homemade cookies ( I didn't eat any, but really loved the gesture).  We had cowbells rang when we went by, people saying thank you, it was overwhelming.

We were toward the front of the group

Loved seeing all the tributes along the way

We finished!  Standing next to the Memorial in Cunningham Park.

We ended up at Cunningham Park.  Denisa and I took a few minutes to look around, we met a woman that was from the St. Louis area, she was there by herself and told us how she came back many times with her church to volunteer.  She was in tears and just amazed at how much has been done since she was here last time.  She took the photo for us and we thanked her for helping our town.  I bought a couple of t-shirts and then Mendy picked us up and we headed off for the private memorial service for Will Norton.

We went to school with Tracey, Will's aunt.  If you don't know Will's story, check it out online.  I can promise you, you will not be the same person after you see it.  We are so fortunate that we are still close friends with many of our school classmates.  We lean on each other and it was evident last night.  When Tracey say us, she hugged us all and told us that she hadn't cried until she saw us.  The ceremony was beautiful and Tracey told us a story that literally took my breath away.  I won't share it here, but if you know Tracey ask her about it. Everyone lit a candle and we floated them in the pond where Will was found - many days after the tornado.  A couple of lanterns were lit and let go.  One of them went up a bit and then came back down in the pond.  I felt it was just Will letting everyone know that he is ok.

After the ceremony, the girls (minus Tracey and Mendy) went to dinner.  As you know, I'm doing the reset and following a pretty strict diet, so I just packed my food ( see Food Toting Mama) and ate my own at the restaurant.

I am so blessed to have these girls in my life.  You really don't know the half of it......

It was a good day and a good way to spend this day.

Ended the evening with Brian and just relaxing.

If you want to read my blog posts right after the tornado check these out:  not many words  and tornado damages.

My eats for the day:

Fruit plate - breakfast

beans and rice over salad with homemade dressing

my afternoon pick-me-up (alkanalize) 

Snack before walk was 1/2 scoop tropical shakeology in my shaker cup on the road!

I also had my pre-dinner supplements on the road out of the back of the jeep.  The girls think I'm a bit nuts, but that is ok, this just solidifies it!

The guy riding his bike as I am downing my detox drink may have different thoughts!

Dinner was sweet potato red pepper bisque. 

Dinner was hard, the girls all had chips and salsa, MY FAVES!  I didn't eat a one!  Stuck to the plan.

GO ME!!!!

One year later

It's a tough day today,  for a LOT of people in our area.  Today marks the one year anniversary since the EF-5 tornado came through Joplin.  There are a lot of things planned for today - remembrances, ceremonies, moments of silence and of course, just getting through those personal memories.

We had a beautiful day that day, but we knew there was a threat of bad weather.  Brian and I even talked about it that morning.  The air just felt different to me.  I even told him that morning that if we did get the storms they were calling for, it was going to be bad.  Little did I know just HOW BAD it would be.

We went about our business, it was a Sunday and we were enjoying the day and the weather.  We were out running errands, ended up at Cherry Berry at about 4:45.  We were looking around and Brian mentioned that it looked like it might storm, so we decided to go home.  Thank God that we did, we were right in the path the tornado took.

We got home and that is when all the excitement started.  A friend called and asked if she could come over, she was at the mall, of course we said yes.  We have a basement and several people come over when the weather gets bad.

We lost power and turned the radio on and were listening to the updates.  We stood on the back deck and couldn't decide if we were hearing a train or a tornado. We still don't know.  But shortly afterwards, we heard the school had been hit.  We had a rental property there and were concerned about our friend that lived in the house. When we got close, we knew it was bad.  We were praying that she wasn't home.  Thank God our prayers were answered.  We all saw things we shouldn't be seeing, had to do things we hated to do, and I am so extremely grateful that the 4 families that rented our homes were okay.  We weren't sure about a couple for several days.  Phone service was awful, we were working on the houses, helping friends with their houses and just doing what we could to help.

However, things are moving forward.  One house completely repaired with a new tenant.  One house completely built with our friend living in it and the 3rd house is almost done.  We sold a lot to the school district and are putting the 3rd house up for sale for a short while before we rent it out, if necessary,

Things are moving forward.  For the most part, people are moving forward. I am ready to look to the future!

Joplin Spirit Tree

Joplin Wall of Hope

Butterfly Effect Mural

My eats for yesterday:

I had a lot more energy yesterday.  Felt pretty good all day long, a little hungry at times, but it wasn't too bad.  It will take me a while to get used to only fruit for breakfast.  I'll manage it!

Week 2 Detox drink.  I drink this 30 mins before each meal.  Looks nasty, tastes like weak lemon tea.  The challenge is that it is really gritty......

Fruit plate

Huge salad 

beans and rice with spices, steamed zucchini and asparagus.  Supposed to have string beans, but I had leftover asparagus and HATE to waste food!

Off to see what the day brings.  I need to be in the office for a while this morning and then thinking about the walk of unity and then a private memorial service tonight.

God Bless Joplin and all the people affected by last year's tornado.  

Food-Toting Mama!

I have been on the go this weekend and since I am doing the Ultimate Reset, that means I take my food and water with me everywhere!

These things go everywhere with me!

Saturday I felt REALLY tired all day long, so I just hung out at the house (Brian was showing property most of the day anyway) and took it easy.  I didn't do any walking or exercise of any kind, took a nap and just allowed my body to recover.

Sunday was a different story.  We were on the go all day long.  I felt less tired, which was a really good thing!  We had to go to Grove pick up Bill (father-in-law) and take him to see Judy (mother-in-law) who is in the hospital in Miami.  Luckily, the kids had called and wanted to get together for dinner ( a good thing I had packed my dinner too!) We had a good time and it was nice for all of us to be together.  It had been a while, everyone is so busy!

Brian did find time to get his birthday present set up at the lake.  He got a hammock chair.  It was GLORIOUS!

I really did let Brian sit in it first!

My eats for the last couple of days:

 baked tempeh, avocado and steamed kale

 salad with homemade dressing and quinoa salad - YUM!

 watermelon shakeology - snack

roasted root veggies, toasted millet and zucchini cashew soup (probably my favorite meal so far!!)

oatmeal with flaxseed, apple and coconut milk yogurt

Big Ol salad and zucchini cashew soup

Dinner last night was steamed veggies, brown rice and baked tempeh (forgot to take a pic)

As you can see, some really delicious food!

I've already had my breakfast, my supplements (started the detox drink today) and taken my walk.

Here's my playlist for the walk today!

Part of Me - Katy Perry - 3:35

Who Says You Can't Go Home - Bon Jovi - 3:50

YMCA  - Village People - 3:43

Lucky - Jason Mraz - 3:09

Love on Top - Beyonce - 4:27

Lookin' Out My Back Door - Creedence Clearwater - 2:32

Pretty Young Thing - Michael Jackson - 3:58

Made to Love - tobyMac - 3:50

Shower the People - James Taylor - 4:01

I just pick the first song and have the ipod on shuffle and take what I get!  Of course I have a playlist of mostly upbeat songs, but this one worked out great!  Just a little over 30 minutes and great music!

Farmer's Market Friday

The market was busy, lots of yummy goodness for sale and I got the last two boxes of strawberries!  It was a good day!

 My haul!

I met a friend at the market and I packed our lunch.  We enjoyed it sitting in the shade of a tree.  The tree had a few critters falling around us (tomato worms), but we had a great time.  The weather was absolutely perfect!

It was also my nephew Marcus's high school graduation!  So, after the market, I came home and prepared my dinner and Brian and I took off!

We got to the lake and had a nice meal with Lisa, Marcus, Todd and Julie, Bill and of course Chase, Meredith and Madelyn.  

Chase and Bill

Madelyn really enjoyed dessert!

The Linn family

Brian told me to take a photo of his sammy.  He was not following the meal plan for dinner!

 

Nick and Lauren at  graduation

The proud parents and graduate!

Congratulations Marcus!!

My eats for the day.  Ultimate Reset Day 5:

Breakfast

Totally forgot to take a photo of lunch, but it was a yummy and very pretty quinoa salad and hummus and veggies!  Take my word for it!!

Snack on the way to graduation

 Dinner also included a bowl of miso soup  - YUM!

I took all my supplements and drank a gallon of distilled water! Felt really good today, full of energy!!