Fri 31 Jan

Cold again, eh? Getting mighty old. On call for the weekend, so hoping no calls will let me stay in and stay warm. Plans for this evening include cheese fries and dominos. Food: 6:45 am 1/2 grapefruit, 103 g blackberries, coffee 8:15 am Crepe, 2 scrambled eggs, veggie mix, coffee 11:45 am Vanilla soy shake, slice Earth Friendly toast, 1 tbl PB 12:30 pm 25 g chocolate covered pecans 2:30 pm 1/2 venison snack stick, 1 Hershey's Special Dark miniature 6:00 pm 4 cheese fries, 1/2 large green pepper, 3 oz baby carrots, 5 oz shiraz 7:45 pm 1/2 Crunch Thin Mints bar, several pieces dark chocolate angel food Exercise: 4:5-5:40 am The Firm Bootcamp DVD 4:30-5:10 pm Jessica Smith Belly, Buns & Thighs Walk YouTube

Thurs 30 Jan

Hoping that Michele's is still offering Cheap Date Night tonight - it's supposed to run through January so it should be okay. It's $40 for a prix fixe menu for two including a shared appetizer, 2 salads and entrees, a bottle of wine and dessert. I'm on call Fri-Mon so I thought it would be nice to enjoy an evening out tonight and just stay in tomorrow (maybe with cheese fries!) Date night is on! We have reservations for 5:45 pm. Yum! Dinner was excellent! We had smoked salmon toasts for appetizer, caesar salad, lovely rare beef chunks on skewers w/mushrooms & rice pilaf, and apple crisp w/salted caramel and ice cream for dessert. Wine was a very acceptable shiraz. Food: 6:45 am 1 c Trader Joe's multigrain flaxseed cereal, 1/2 c light vanilla soy milk, 1/2 grapefruit, 101 g blackberries, coffee 12:45 pm Chocolate soy shake, 1 slice Earth Friendly wheat toast, 1 tbl PB, med banana, 2 oz soy milk, 1 tsp sugar 6:00 pm Smoked salmon on toast w/sour cream & capers, caesar salad, 3 oz rare beef, button mushrooms, bourbon reduction sauce, 3/4 c rice pilaf, apple crumble w/ice cream, 7 oz shiraz Exercise: 4:50-5:50 am Dance DVD

Wed 29 Jan

The month is nearly over, but the cold temperatures are hanging on like a dried booger. Nice analogy, eh? Any time some unseasonable warmth wants to take over, I'm ready. Had a hair appointment tonight so I had to rush in exercise, swallow leftover mac n cheese to get there. Food: 6:45 am 1 c Trader Joe's multigrain flaxseed cereal, 1/2 c light vanilla soy milk, 1/2 grapefruit, 101 g blackberries, coffee 11:45 am Peach soy shake, banana muffin, caramel macchiato Greek blend yogurt 2:30 pm 3/4 c chocolate Fiber One dry cereal 5:45 pm Mac N Cheese 8:10 pm 1/2 c peppermint stick ice cream, homemade hot fudge Exercise: 4:50-5:40 am Kathy Smith Weights DVD 5:40-6:00 am DWTS Salsa segment DVD 5:10-5:40 pm 30 min power walk YouTube

Tues 28 Jan

Starting a Tuesday morning at -20° is disgusting. Just saying. Coworkers decided to do Ranchitos for lunch, so how could I refuse? Food: 6:45 am Steel cut oats w/flaxseed meal, protein powder, 1/2 c blueberries, soy milk, 1/2 grapefruit, 100 g blackberries, coffee 12:00 pm Chips & salsa, pulled pork burrito w/red sauce, 1/3 c refried beans, 1/3 c Mexican rice 6:00 pm Barbecue on multigrain sandwich thin, 2.5 slices fresh pineapple, 8 oz skim milk Exercise: 4:50-5:45 am DWTS DVD 4:55-5:25 pm 2 mile walk DVD

Mon 27 Jan

Brrrrr!!!! Not looking forward to getting out in the cold today. May reschedule an afternoon home visit to a lonely part of the rural county. Wouldn't want to slide off the road and be stuck in the ditch today. Unexpected lunch with my client at South Point was really quite tasty. Grilled ham & cheese w/ a cup of chicken dumpling soup for $3.90 with the tax. Food: 6:45 am 2 slices coffee cake, 1/2 grapefruit, 99 g blackberries, coffee 11:00 am Grilled ham & cheese sandwich, cup chicken dumpling soup 2:30 pm 1/2 venison snack stick 6:30 pm Macaroni and cheese, 1 c Libby's Maui blend veggies, 8 oz skim milk Exercise: 4:50-6:00 am Jane Fonda Complete Workout video 4:45-5:15 pm Denise Austin Dance YouTube video 5:15-5:45 pm Jessica Smith Dance Walk YouTube video

Sun 26 Jan

Last week of January, and still in the deep freeze. Maybe February will improve? We played dominos again last night while Dad dealt with a seriously drippy nose, but he seems to be better this morning. Choir today in the afternoon, leaving the evening at leisure. Dad and I shoveled the snow today so we get it out of the way before the next installment of cold. I was surprised that there were about 3 inches down. Food: 8:30 am 2 slices coffee cake, 1/2 grapefruit, 98 g blackberries, coffee 11:45 am 2 eggs, 3 slices bacon, 1 1/2 pancakes, 1 tbl whipped butter, 1 tbl syrup, coffee] 1:45 pm 1 Toffifee 6:00 pm Marzipan drinking chocolate Exercise: 6:50-7:40 am Ballet DVD 7:40-8:10 am Cardio dance DVD 1:15-1:40 pm Shoveling snow

Sat 25 Jan

Woke up with a bit of a headache this morning (and no, I only had one Corona at the event last night!) It seems to be abating now. I sing The Black Dress on Suzuki recital this afternoon. Mary really wanted me to do it. She said this song really has excellent tone for me. I prefer that it's a Saturday afternoon as it seems less formal that way, though I suspect it's the same. I have to rehearse with Tom Yang at 11:14. Recital went very well. It was truly a delight to sing with a live and excellent accompanist. The recording I had to practice with played the song with a rubato that never felt right so I was always lagging behind or getting ahead. Tom allowed me to lead so I could enjoy singing the song. On a lesser note, the headache is back so that I finally gave in and took ibuprofen (which is yet to kick in). I also had a tiny twinge in my throat as I left the Suzuki building, so I hope this isn't a sign of oncoming illness. I'm having a good cup of hot tea just in case. Food: 8:45 am 2 slices coffee cake, 1/2 grapefruit, 101 g blackberries, coffee 12:00 pm Vitamix smoothie w/1 c frozen strawberries, med banana, 3 slices fresh pineapple, small cranberry walnut scone, caramel macchiato Greek blend yogurt 4:45 pm Matcha tea, 1 pc artisan chocolates (from Hotel RED) 5:45 pm 1/5 La Terra Fina spinach & artichoke quiche, 1 c broccoli, 12 oz skim milk Exercise: 1:00-2:05 pm 4 mile power walk YouTube 2:05-2:35 pm Walking exercise self-choreographed

Fri 24 Jan

Somewhat tired today. Did a more intense weight workout than usual so my muscles are a little sore. Tonight we go to Passport to Paradise and they will have a live salsa band from Madison so we can get some exercise dancing. Last night we played dominos, believe it or not. We will have an opportunity on our spring break tour to play with the locals for awhile, so I thought we should brush up. We found it is fun and requires our aging brains to use basic math (adding) skills that we don't often dust off. We will likely do this more often just to keep ourselves sharp. It's also a nice way to do something together in the evening. We had fun at Passport to Paradise. We did the salsa, the merengue, and the cha cha and had a very nice buffet dinner. We got there right as it started so the buffet was well-filled and there was a nice variety of relatively healthy stuff: shrimp, chicken skewers, wings, lovely fresh fruit, cucumber cups, sweet potato fries. Food: 6:45 am 2 slices coffee cake, 1/2 grapefruit, 100 g blackberries, coffee 11:30 am Chocolate soy shake, steel cut oatmeal w/flaxseed meal, protein powder, 1/2 c frozen blueberries, soy milk 12:30 pm 19 g dark chocolate covered super fruits 5:45 pm 1 Babybel light, 10 g cinnamon almonds Exercise: 4:50-5:30 am Jane Fonda Workout with Weights video 5:30-5:50 am Cardio salsa DVD 4:50-5:30 pm Indoor Jogging YouTube

Thurs 23 Jan

My thighs have been sore for the past day or so. Had to take ibuprofen twice to get through the night without being kept awake by sore muscles. I still feel them this morning. I guess my exercise has had a lot of squats this week. Tomorrow evening we are going to the fundraiser party Passport to Paradise for Boys and Girls Club. They have a nice buffet, tropical drinks, and a live band with salsa/Cuban music for dancing. There is a big money silent auction that is fun to peruse and not even tempting on the price tags. As I recall, there were big screen TVs and the main prize was a weekend flight with the Noels to St. Maarten that went for about $5000. A bit out of our range, eh? I had that "comfort food" hankering to bake a Betty Crocker coffee cake today. I couldn't figure out why it didn't raise as high in the pan as it usually does, then I realized that I haven't made one in so long that I forgot I'm supposed to make 1 1/2 recipes to fill a 9x13 pan. Food: 6:45 am 1 c Trader Joe's multigrain flaxseed cereal, 1/2 c light vanilla soy milk, 1/2 grapefruit, 101 g blackberries, coffee 11:15 am 1 slice Terry's dark chocolate orange 12:30 pm Vanilla soy shake, 2 eggs, 1/4 c chopped green pepper, small roma tomato, .75 oz Dubliner cheddar 1:15 pm 1 mint Milano cookie, 1 Lindor truffle 6:30 pm 3.5 oz Costco chicken, 2/3 c mashed sweet potato, 1 c broccoli, 11 oz skim milk, 2 small pieces coffee cake Exercise: 4:45-5:50 am DWTS DVD 6:00-6:10 pm Salsa warmup DVD 6:10-6:25 pm Standing Abs YouTube workout

Wed 22 Jan

Hopefully our 4-day work week will go by nice and smoothly this week. Another cold morning, but I also hope the cold streak is petering out and maybe further cold blasts won't be as strong or as long. Food: 6:45 am Morning bun, 1/2 grapefruit, 101 g blackberries, coffee 11:45 am Strawberry/banana soy shake, slice 12 grain toast, 1 tbl PB, large red pear 5:00 pm 1 oz milk chocolate Santa 6:30 pm 1.45 oz roast pork, 1/3 c butternut puree, 2 thin stalks asparagus, caramel macchiato Greek blend yogurt, 1 Effie's oatcake Exercise: 4:50-5:45 am Kristi Yamaguchi DVD 4:25-4:45 pm Shoveling (Brrrr! It's cold!) 5:25-5:55 pm Power Interval Walk YouTube 5:55-6:10 pm Dance warmup YouTube

Tues 21 Jan

Spent the last hour of sleep this morning wondering if I'm getting sick. My torso feels weird inside, not exactly nauseous or exactly gassy, just not right. I was able to get up, exercise, shower, have breakfast, etc. so I suspect I'll be fine, but I'm still not on top of my game. Don't know if it was the excessive eating of good foods or what. Didn't really have any alcohol yesterday so that's not it. Food: 6:45 am Morning bun, 1/2 grapefruit, 101 g blackberries, coffee 11:45 am Peach soy shake, small slice vanilla bread w/cranberries, .25 tbl butter, large red pear 12:45 pm 1 dark chocolate sea salt caramel 2:30 pm Snapea crisps packet 5:15 pm 4 oz grilled salmon, 1 tbl drizzled cherry ale reduction, 1/2 c mashed potatoes, 1 roma tomato Exercise: 4:50-5:30 am DWTS DVD 5:30-5:50 am 1 mile walk DVD 6:00-6:30 pm 30 min power walk YouTube

Mon 20 Jan

Our foodie day is well begun. I had a delicious omelet with market veggies and Wisconsin chevre, English muffin toast with house-made blueberry and raspberry/banana preserves, and excellent coffee. We plan to wakk over to TJ's soon, checking out later, to combine our shopping with a little exercise. Later we'll stop at the kitchen store nextto Penzey's to look for a butter crock. I want to try using regular butter at room temp for a spread. Food: 7:45 am Omelet with market veggies & chevre, 2 slices English muffin toast, whipped butter, 2 tbl blueberry preserves, 2 tbl raspberry/banana preserves, coffee, 1-2 bites Dauphinoise potatoes Exercise: 9:15 am Walk to and back from TJ's

Sun 19 Jan

Nice to get up and start a "normal" Sunday, knowing that after church and lunch, we get to hop in the car and head down to Madison for a festival of good meals. Great way to start a week. Looking forward to seeing you this evening. Food: 8:30 am 1 c Trader Joe's multigrain flaxseed cereal, 1/2 c light original soy milk, 1/2 grapefruit, 96 g blackberries, coffee 12:00 pm 2 slices Nueske's bacon, 2 pc vanilla artisan bread w/cranberries, 1 egg, 2 oz almond milk, 2 tbl maple syrup Exercise: 6:50-7:40 am Ballet DVD 7:40-8:10 am Cardio Dance DVD

Sat 18 Jan

Yay! Saturday is finally here. Nice to have today to get laundry done, catch up on errands, etc before heading out tomorrow afternoon to Madison to eat bountifully and get our monthly errands done on Monday. Thanks for the email - we will try to hit Osteria early to hopefully get a table. They open at 5 pm so we'll contact you before that time to be there soon after they open. Menu sounds excellent, but that's no surprise. Food: 7:30 am 2 slices artisan vanilla bread w/cranberries, 1 egg, 2 oz skim milk, 1 tbl maple syrup, 1/2 grapefruit, 100 g blackberries, coffee 12:15 pm Light & Fit caramel macchiato Greek blend yogurt, slice artisan vanilla bread w/cranberries, 1/2 tbl whipped butter, smoothie w/1/2 c frozen strawberries, 1/2 med banana, 1 1/2 slices fresh pineapple, 3 Fruchte Lebkuchen cookies 5:00 pm 1 York peppermint pattie 6:15 pm Sloppy Joe on multigrain wheat sandwich thin, 3 fresh pineapple slices, 12 oz Weizen Bock Exercise: 2:05-3:50 pm Hiking through snow at Mead Wildlife Preserve

Fri 17 Jan

Made it to Friday, no pages on any of the three on-call nights, relatively uneventful week. Still I'm ready for it to be done. I felt like I had to work really hard to exercise this morning even though I did one of the regular routines. My Friday breakfast client left a message last night on my work phone that she is sick, so no Olympia today. Two single granola bars at my desk instead. I am on Intake from 12:15-3:00, so I'll get lunch early. Food: 6:45 am 1/2 grapefruit, 98 g blackberries, coffee 8:45 am 2 bars Nature Valley Oats N Honey 11:00 am Strawberry/banana soy shake, Light & Fit caramel macchiato Greek blend yogurt, dense cranberry almond scone from Main Grain 12:45 pm 2 lebkuchen cookies 5:30 pm 5 oz white bordeaux, Pescador platter w/fried bluegill, perch, & walleye, sweet potato fries, coleslaw, baked beans, tartar sauce Exercise: 4:50-5:45 am The Firm Bootcamp DVD 4:25-5:05 pm Indoor Jogging YouTube

Thurs 16 Jan

So far no pages on Tues or Wed evening. Only tonight before I hand off to Barb for the weekend. I will then take her Fri-Mon starting Jan 31. I have not heard back from you regarding Sun/Mon restaurant week reservations. I sent a couple of emails in case you haven't been following the blog. Let me know if you'd like to join any of the meals. Food: 6:45 am 1 c Trader Joe's multigrain flaxseed cereal, 1/2 c light original soy milk, 1/2 grapefruit, 96 g blackberries, coffee 10:00 am Blueberry muffin 11:45 am 1/2 serving light wheat thins 12:30 pm Leftovers of duck a la cerise w/au gratin potatoes and veggies 1:15 pm 2 Fruchte Lebkkuchen cookies 4:45 pm Small handful chocolate covered pretzels 5:15 pm 1 Priano tri-color tortellini, 1/3 c arrabiata sauce, 1 tbl shredded parmesan, 3 fresh pineapple rings Exercise: 4:50-5:45 am Cardio Dance DVD 7:10-7:30 pm Jessica Smith strength YouTube 7:30-7:40 pm Walking workout

Wed 15 Jan

I finally gave in this morning and went back to bed instead of exercising. I can't tell you how nice it felt to lay in my warm bed for that extra hour and just appreciate the comfort. I will have to work harder later in the day to make up my steps, but at this point, I think it was worth it. I haven't done that for a long time and it was so nice to indulge myself. Heather struck again at staffing, trying to get rid of her glut of Christmas goodies on our all-too-willing coworkers. Insurance agent was a very interesting character, German-born, investor in tree farming operations in Paraguay. Downstairs after supper to make up my exercise from my lazy morning! Food: 6:45 am Steel cut oats w/flaxseed meal, protein powder, 1/2 c blueberries, soy milk, 1/2 grapefruit, 100 g blackberries, coffee 9:15 am Blueberry muffin 11:45 am Chocolate soy shake, Light & Fit caramel macchiato Greek blend yogurt 1:30 pm 2 frosted sugar cookies, small Snickers homemade bar, light wheat thins 6:45 pm Sea Queen sundried tomato tilapia filet, 1/2 c dressing, 1 tbl gravy, canned sliced beets, 12 oz skim milk Exercise: 7:25-8:15 pm 4 mile boosted walk YouTube

Tues 14 Jan

This Tuesday is much more promising than last week. Last week I had that odd day when I never really woke up all day and felt groggy and disconnected. Today is a pretty normal Tuesday. I wonder whether the weird experience last Tuesday was at all connected with the weird effect of the wine on Friday. Maybe I'm carrying a low-grade illness that just pops up occasionally. Food: 6:45 am 1 c Trader Joe's multigrain flaxseed cereal, 1/2 c light original soy milk, 1/2 grapefruit, 99 g blackberries, coffee 11:45 am Peach soy shake, slice wheat toast, 1 tbl PB, Roma tomato 12:30 pm Lindor truffle 1:45 pm Snapea crisps 4:45 pm 6 cinnamon almonds Exercise: 4:50-5:45 am DWTS DVD

Mon 13 Jan

Here we go Monday again. I feel ready for another week today. We have cooking class with Rockman's tomorrow and the K of C insurance man comes Wed evening to settle Grandma's policy. I haven't finished the other two policies I know of yet, but I have a start on them. I got some temporary checks for the new account on Friday because they did forget to order real ones, but that has now been done so I will have real checks soon. Getting there. Once in a while, it's a good thing to watch the Vitamix guy demonstrate at Costco again just to remind myself what I could be doing with my machine. I started out using it regularly, but once fresh produce season ended, I kind of forgot about it. I bought some tomatoes and celery and made a chip-less tortilla soup for lunch today to get some easy veggies w/minimal calories. Dad and I split a good-sized batch. Food: 6:45 am Steel cut oats w/flaxseed meal, protein powder, 1/2 c blueberries, soy milk, 1/2 grapefruit, 99 g blackberries, coffee 12:00 pm Vanilla soy shake, Vitamix soup (1 c fat free chicken broth, 1/2 roma tomato, 1/2 stalk celery, 3 baby carrots, 1/2 clove garlic), 1 Effie's oatcake 12:45 pm 2 Toffifee 3:00 pm See's mint lollipop 5:00 pm 4 unsalted nuts 5:45 pm 237 g pasty, 1 c Pictsweet green & yellow beans & carrots, 12 oz skim milk 6:45 pm Peppermint ice cream w/homemade hot fudge Exercise: 4:45-5:55 am Jane Fonda Complete Workout video 5:15-5:35 pm Fast 1 mile walk YouTube 6:30-6:40 pm 10 min interval walk YouTube

Sun 12 Jan

Had a nice little trip to Green Bay/De Pere Friday night through Sat afternoon. The wine tasting really hit hard though, and I'm not sure why. It came with a glass and I chose the port which came in a much larger pour than would be usual with port, but still I was just a little giggly when we left the winery. We arrived just in time for our dinner reservations and really enjoyed a cup of awesome butternut squash soup with excellent spices and a touch of cream. I wasn't able to eat a large portion of my awesome duck a la cerise, but that was likely more due to being full from the soup. I have some great leftovers to look forward to. We did not have any more alcohol with the meal, and you would expect time and the food in our bellies to reduce the impact of the alcohol from the wine tasting, but instead it became cumulatively worse so that I had to concentrate to walk from the restaurant through the hotel to the room. I had to lay down on the bed and lay perfectly still or I felt awful. I basically slept from the time I returned to the room until morning. I felt fine in the morning, but it was a weird, unexpected experience. At least it didn't ruin my enjoyment of the excellent dinner. Breakfast was also awesome. We were treated to a sit-down breakfast in the restaurant as part of the $79 package. We each had a half Croque Madame with a small bowl of fresh-cut fruit. Magnifique! After we checked out, we headed to the nearby Costco. Availed myself of too many Saturday prime time samples, but we didn't need lunch. We stopped in mid-afternoon around 3 pm at the Wheel House in Waupaca and had pizza as our final meal for the day. Sunday afternoon with no Packers. Sigh. But choir starts at 3:30. Food: 7:30 am 1 c Trader Joe's multigrain flaxseed cereal, 1/2 c light original soy milk, 1/2 grapefruit, 100 g blackberries, coffee 12:00 pm Egg Beaters w/spinach & mushrooms, 2 thin tomato slices, 3 wedges Granny Smith, 1/2 slice pineapple, 1 sm wedge cantaloupe, English muffin w/butter, blackberry jam, coffee 3:10 pm 3 Cafe Bistro pfeffenusse 6:00 pm Leftover WheelHouse pizza 7:00 pm 1/2 c peppermint stick ice cream w/homemade hot fudge Exercise: 5:50-6:40 am Ballet DVD 6:40-7:10 am Cardio Salsa DVD 2:20-3:00 pm Jessica Smith Indoor Jogging YouTube

Fri 10 Jan

We are heading off to DePere tonight for a nice overnight out of town after being on call for a week. We will drive to Captain's Walk in Green Bay, which is really quite close, to use our wine tasting voucher after we check in at the hotel. We have dinner reservations at 7:00 for some of Sebastien's wonderful food. Tomorrow after breakfast, we'll hit Costco. I'm running low on a few regular vitamins. Having breakfast with my client this morning, but not until about 9:15 as I have to sit in on an 8:30 psych appointment with another client. Thought I'd better add in a few almonds to hold my tummy. Food: 6:45 am 1/2 grapefruit, 98 g blackberries, 20 g cinnamon almonds, coffee 9:30 am Crepe, 2 scrambled eggs, veggie mix, coffee 12:00 pm Chocolate soy shake, 1 slice cinnamon raisin struan toast, 1/2 tbl whipped butter, Light & Fit caramel macchiato Greek blend yogurt Exercise: 4:50-6:00 am 5 mile advanced walk with some minimal weights (YouTube)

Thurs 9 Jan

The week marches on. Temps this morning are as cold as they've been this week, but it promises to warm up from here. Can't wait for upper 20s and 30s on the weekend! Trying hard to resist the last tray of Heather's goodies in the hall outside my door. Decided a single granola bar might satisfy enough so I don't cave. Coworker night at Ranchitos. Always a good time. Food: 6:45 am Steel cut oats w/flaxseed meal, protein powder, 1/2 c blueberries, soy milk, 1/2 grapefruit, 100 g blackberries, coffee 9:45 am 1 Nature Valley Oats N Honey bar 12:30 pm Strawberry/banana soy shake, 2 slices cinnamon raisin struan toast, 1 tbl whipped butter, Light & Fit caramel macchiato Greek blend yogurt 4:45 pm Margarita, chips/salsa, 2 tilapia tacos, rice/beans Exercise: 4:50-5:50 am DWTS DVD 6:45-7:30 pm Walk 3 mile YouTube

Wed 8 Jan

Well, at least I woke up feeling normally awake today. I really don't like dragging through an entire day feeling like I need to be back in bed. I had a very minor headache this morning and a hint that I may be heading toward a cold, so I'm going to try to remember to hit the Cold-Eze lozenges regularly. They have sometimes helped head things off at the pass in the past. Once again, Heather brought a bunch of treats to staffing, and once again, I failed miserably at willpower. Sigh. At least it's good motivation to work out a little harder on the after-work YouTube videos. Food: 6:45 am Co-op cinnamon roll, 1/2 grapefruit, 101 g blackberries, coffee 12:00 pm Peach soy shake, 2 slices cinnamon raisin struan toast, 1 tbl whipped butter, Light & Fit caramel macchiato Greek blend yogurt 1:30 pm Molasses cookie, small homemade snickers-type bar, cheerios mix 6:40 pm Priano lasagna, 1 c Pictsweet beans/carrots Exercise: 4:50-5:45 am The Firm workout DVD 5:15-6:00 pm Jessica Smith YouTube power walk/weights

Tues 7 Jan

Such a hard time waking up this morning. Really didn't want to get out of bed, but I got a full night's sleep last night so there were no good excuses. Didn't even get more awake while exercising, and truth be told, I could still happily crawl back in bed even after breakfast. Nap time, come soon! Got a nap at lunch but nothing is conquering the tiredness today. I have dark circles under my eyes that resemble a raccoon! Don't think I'm getting sick, but no explanation for the tiredness today. I certainly am enjoying my new Smart TV. I can access many, many fitness videos on YouTube to give me some variety. This motivates me to get in a short post-work workout to complete my step count when it's too miserable outside for a walk or we have other things on the agenda. Food: 6:45 am Steel cut oats w/flaxseed meal, protein powder, 1/3 c blueberries, soy milk, 1/2 grapefruit, 98 g blackberries, coffee 11:15 am Jasmine tea 11:45 am Strawberry/banana soy shake, 2 slices cinnamon raisin struan toast, 1 tbl whipped butter, Light & Fit caramel macchiato Greek blend yogurt 12:45 pm 17 g angel food candy 3:15 pm Cinnamon pretzels 5:45 pm Priano lasagna, 1/2 c buttered baby carrots Exercise: 4:50-5:40 am DWTS DVD 4:50-5:15 pm Jessica Smith Dance Walk YouTube

Mon 6 Jan

I checked the temperature online when I headed down to exercise at 4:45; it was -19 with a -22 wind chill factor. When I came back up at 6:00, it was -20 with at -44 WCF. When I sat down to breakfast, we were down to -22, and now Wunderground says -24 with a -48 WCF. Like the limbo, how low can you go? Food: 6:45 am Steel cut oats w/flaxseed meal, 1/2 c blueberries, protein powder, soy milk, 1/2 grapefruit, 101 g blackberries, coffee 11:30 am Chocolate soy shake, 2 slices cinnamon raisin struan toast, 1 tbl whipped butter, Light & Fit caramel macchiato Greek blend yogurt 12:30 pm 1 Lindor truffle 2:00 pm Cinnamon pretzels (Damn that Heather, bringing more irresistible treats!) 6:30 pm 4.5 oz leg of lamb, 1/2 c stuffing, 1 tbl gravy, 1/3 c buttered baby carrots Exercise: 4:45-5:55 am Jane Fonda Complete Workout video 5:35-6:10 pm Power walking YouTube w/Jessica Smith

Sun 5 Jan

Found out that we are going to have choir again this semester; thought he was taking spring off again like last year. Fortunately, he decided to delay starting until next week in deference to the Packer game. They are moving the rehearsal time up to 3:30 in the afternoon so people don't have to drive in the dark so much in the winter. I prefer to get the practice in early and have the evening free, especially since we no longer have visiting Grandma to make the after-church schedule tight. Now I won't have to come home from choir and head straight to bed! Food: 8:30 am 59 g chocolate chip brioche, 1/2 grapefruit, 100 g blackberries, coffee 12:15 pm Capon soup, 1 Effie's corn cake, 3 Cafe Bistro pfefferneuse 2:15 pm 1/4 c cinnamon almonds 3:45 pm 2 Toffifee, 6 oz mulled wine 5:10 pm Priano lasagna, 1/2 c buttered baby carrots Exercise: 6:50-7:40 am Ballet DVD 7:40-8:20 am Cardio Dance DVD 1:40-2:10 pm 3 mile Walk Away the Pounds YouTube

Sat 4 Jan

Finished the latest Dan Brown book last night. They are enjoyable, fast-moving stories with enough history and European culture to be fun. I had been able to buy it on my Kindle for about $2. Trying quick-cook steel cut oats with your oatmeal recipe this morning. Only took about 5 min in the microwave which isn't that much longer than old-fashioned regular oats. Different texture, but a nice occasional change of pace. Found a Light N Fit Greek yogurt at Aldi's in a caramel macchiato flavor that has only 7 g sugar, about the same as most plain I can find. It's actually very nice, reminiscent of the Dannon coffee yogurt that was my lunch staple for years. SUCCESS!!! THe Christmas tree is down and all the ornaments have been safely stowed in the attic. I had one call on the pager but I was able to deal with it in 15 min, albeit without much help to the person in need as it didn't really fall in our jurisdiction. Can't provide shelter for homeless people just because they have a mental illness. Food: 8:10 am Laura's oatmeal w/steel cut oats, blueberries, flaxseed meal, protein powder, 1/2 c blueberries, 1/2 grapefruit, 99 g blackberries, coffee 1:00 pm Dannon Light N Fit Greek Caramel Macchiato yogurt, 56 g chocolate chip brioche, sm banana 3:45 pm 1/4 c cinnamon almonds 5:30 pm 1/12 Priano Lasagna Italiano, 3/4 c maple spiced squash, 12 oz skim milk 8:00 pm 2 Toffifee candies Exercise: 2:00-2:50 pm Walking video on YouTube - 4 mile brisk 5:10-5:30 pm Treadmill

Fri 3 Jan

Nice that it's already Friday. Since I'm on call (no calls yesterday, yay!), I can't go anywhere this weekend which is an excellent excuse to get the Christmas tree taken down and put away. Will be switching restaurants with my Friday morning client to the Olympic due to some changes at the old restaurant. I far prefer the Olympic anyway. Scored some of the Amherst Family Foods store-made corn dogs today. Haven't had those for a long time. Way OD'ed on chocolate in the afternoon. Had the remainder of a Lindt bear in my desk drawer and just kind of finished it with no restraint. Food: 6:45 am 1/2 grapefruit, 100 g blackberries, 10 g cinnamon almonds, coffee 8:15 am 1 crepe, 2 scrambled eggs, veggie mix, coffee 9:30 am 1 butterscotch Little Pop 12:45 pm Corn dog, 1 tbl ketchup, small banana 6:30 pm Sea Queen Sundried Tomato tilapia filet, 1/2 c sweet potatoes, 1/2 c buttered baby carrots Exercise: 4:50-5:50 am Brand New Butt DVD 4:55-5:35 pm 3-mile walking YouTube video

Thurs 2 Jan

Here we go with another year. I did get one call on the pager yesterday, but it was easily handled in about 15 min without leaving the house and it came at as convenient a time as possible, after we had come home from McReichls, eaten and exercised, but before I headed up to read. I can deal with that. Food: 6:45 am 1 c Trader Joe's multigrain flaxseed cereal, 1/2 c light original soy milk, 1/2 grapefruit, 78 g blackberries, coffee 12:30 pm Strawberry/banana soy shake, capon soup, 1 Effie's corncake 1:15 pm Homemade toffee piece 2:00 pm Ghirardelli peppermint bark square 6:00 pm 3.5 oz leg of lamb, 2/3 c stuffing, 1 tbl gravy, 1/2 c maple spiced squash, 1 chocolate lebkuchen cookie Exercise: 4:50-5:50 am DWTS DVD

Happy 2014!

Happy New Year! Didn't make it to midnight last night, but on the bright side, the pager didn't disturb me all evening! We had our delicious roast goose dinner at Bernard's. Being on the pager was a good excuse not to spend extra cash on alcohol - I waited until later in the evening to make a mango Bellini. I usually feel comfortable having one drink when I'm on call as I don't feel it would impair my ability to make decisions or drive. Dad and I played a few rounds of Trivial Pursuit after we got home. We saw Joanne Soberg smoking outside of Bernard's as we were leaving. She apparently divorced Steve about 5 years ago, moved to San Diego for a year and has since returned. She looked the stereotypic picture of the divorcee on the town last night in her short skirt and fur jacket, but hey, this is Joanne! She said Laura just moved north from San Diego to another San town in California. She is engaged to a marine who has a 2-year-old. We have been invited to the McReichl's today to watch the Badger game. We will go to Newman for the 11 am service and then to Chuck and Deb's. I sent Dad to Copps to pick up a tray of drumsticks so I can get them in the oven now. I will transfer them to the crock pot once they are cooked to stay warm. I am making a New Year's resolution this year to try to incorporate more music into my life again as it seems to have slipped away a bit. I will try to listen to tunes often, play the piano more, etc. Food: 8:15 am Laura's oatmeal w/protein powder, flaxseed meal, 1/2 c blueberries, soy milk, 1/2 grapefruit, 29 g raspberries, 76 g blackberries, coffee 12:30 pm 12 oz cab sauv, chicken drumstick, dinner roll w/hot beef, 3 shrimp w/cocktail sauce, too many sweets 6:00 pm Chicken drumstick, 1 Effie's corncake, 8 oz skim milk Exercise: 7:00-8:00 am The Firm Aerobic/Weight Training DVD 4:10-5:05 pm Richard Simmons DVD