My Own Diet Plan ~ maybe I should write a book

I've found a way to get my daily servings of fruits and veggies in and it's really helping with my weight too!

 

What I've been doing lately is at my meals, I've been eating my fruits and vegetables first.  That way I'm not stuffed with the "first foods" of meat and bread, not leaving room for the fruits and vegetables I know I need.  And because of that, I don't eat as much of the entrée.

 

Simplistic I know, but hey, I'm a simple kind of gal.

Here's a current sample of my daily menu:

• Breakfast:  bowl of old fashioned oatmeal with rounded teaspoon each of honey and peanut butter, splash of whole milk. Black coffee,  1/2 cup fruit juice
• Lunch:  First I eat a bowl of fruit (whatever is in season; today was sliced apple, strawberries, grapes, kiwi ~ see picture above), then I have my entrée (today it was leftover chicken pot pie), and 16 ounces of whole milk
• Supper:  Tonight we're having chicken/dressing, and stir-fried zucchini/onions.  (I'll eat the zucchini/onions first, then the chicken/dressing.

Note:  I buy 98% or more of my groceries at Aldi.  They have the fruits and vegetables that are currently in season at great prices! 

Who knows, I may even throw caution to the wind tonight and make a dessert!  After seeing all the pumpkin specialty foods in the store today ~ coffee creamer, pumpkin flavored cream cheese, pumpkin bread mixes ~ and after reading the long list of ingredients in a few of them, I threw a can of pumpkin into my cart (only ingredient was pumpkin).  Then I grabbed a half gallon of vanilla ice cream (didn't look at its ingredients:), for good measure.  I don't know what I'll make but I bet I can find something yummy on Pinterest and I'll top it with ice cream, insuring its yumminess.

So if you count up my fruits/veggies for the day it comes to at least five, not counting the pumpkin dessert and vegetables in the chicken pot pie (which I made from scratch with fresh vegetables).  I know that They've now upped the desired daily servings to 8-11, but I'm trying to be realistic.  If I put 8-11 servings of fruits/vegetables into my short little body, I wouldn't have room left over for anything else and I have no intention of giving up meat, bread, whole milk, and an occasional sweet treat. 

The great benefits that go along with getting these healthy servings in, other than weight loss, are that I'm having more energy and things are more regular if you know what I mean.

What about you?  How many servings of fruits/veggies do you get a day? 
Do you have a fun/creative way of getting them in?  I'd love to hear!

Searching for joy

Waking up to a dark, rainy morning kind of got me down this morning.

A very rare Morning Glory leaf  :)

Yes, even Pollyannas can be affected by their surroundings.

So I went outside.  Nature is almost always a spirit lifter to me.  And it didn't let me down today.

 

 

 

I hope you have a smile on your face today.

 

 

 

 

A Quiet Book

I made Hannah a Quiet Book for her first birthday.
She's really into owls.  R-E-A-L-L-Y.  She can whooooo with the best of them and she recognizes an owl whether it's my half inch owl necklace pendant or a five-foot owl on a recycling truck.  She's quite a remarkable one year old if I say so myself, and I can say so because I'm her Mama Sherry. :) 

So, I didn't even have to think twice about what to put on the cover of her quiet book.

 

And, without further ado, here are the pages of Hannah's Quiet book.

 Peek-a-boo!

 Button the flowers.

 

Jingle the kitty's bow tie.

 

 

 Shuck the corn.

Peek in the birdy's nest.

 

The butterfly's wings make a happy, crinkly sound when little hands play with them.

 

Where's the doggy?

 

There he is on his ribbon leash.

 

 

 One, two, tie my shoe.

Close-up of button-hole eyelets.

 

After finishing up the quiet book, I made a special card and...

 

...pulled out the little owlet I had already made, and...

 

...packed them all into a comfy little box and shipped them off up north to Indiana.

 

Note:  I used Simplicity Pattern 3709 for the Quiet Book.

 Go to PatternReview.com to read my review of this pattern.

So that's how love works!

Over the years I've heard many, many wonderful ladies talk about how they love their grandbabies just as much they do their own children, and I would think, "How can that be? I could never love another child as much as I love my very own precious children."

 

But this little sunflower came along a year ago and proved me wrong.

 

That's Papa Neil peeking around Hannah.

 My heart just melts when she smiles at me.

 

And now, I have even more proof of that grandma love.

Meet my second grandchild,

Noah Paul

born September 12, just four days after big sister Hannah's 1st birthday.

Oh, and the lady with the beautiful smile holding Noah?

That's my precious daughter, Heather.

The love just keeps growing.

Working with hindrances

Our beautiful weather sure is making it hard for me to get my to-do list checked off. After my early morning walk yesterday I didn't want to come in and start indoor jobs. Looking out into my backyard made me want to be out there in the morning coolness and dappled sunshine, so...

 

... I pulled my cutting board and fabric out onto the patio and cut out my skirt there.

 

And when the outside temps got hot, I went inside and sewed it up!

(I'll try to get pictures made of the finished skirt soon.)

 

So, even with the call of the outdoors I've managed to get over half of my wish list  To-Do list done.

I have a haircut appointment for this afternoon and

hopefully, I can get my jelly made today.

I'm down to less than half of a half-pint jar!

 

And those peppers just keep shaming me for not getting them picked and into the freezer.

I can just hear their little voices when I'm outside, "Save us, we're getting old and tough hanging on these vines."

Simple Plans for a Simple Week

 9-15

                                                                                        

To Do:                                                                                     

• schedule haircut appointment
• make apple cinnamon jelly
• plant spinach
• put jalapenos in the freezer
• sew fall skirt

Wear:                                                        

• simple skirts
• knit tops
• flip flops (at home)
• beige sandals (to town)

Budget:  buy only needs


Eat:

   *  Focus on eating five fruits /veggies daily *

  Breakfast:  oatmeal or toast,
                     coffee, juice
  Lunch:  Entrée ~ medium serving (probably left-overs from the night before)        
                large glass of milk
                1 fruit/ 1 vegetable
  Supper:  Entrée ~  small serving
                 1 fruit/1 vegetable
  Treat:  2 Hershey's Nugget Special Dark Chocolate with Almonds (only if needed)  

Exercise:  2 daily walks to end of road and back (2.6 miles total)
                  sit-ups and weight lifts; Monday, Wednesday, Friday

No sweet tea  (be good Sherry!)

What about you, do you have BIG plans?
I'd love to hear about them.

Hope you have a great week!