Oh What a Beautiful Morning.......

Perfect weather to go out and do some outdoor Christmas decorating!! It was even nice enough to walk up to the clinic to get my blood drawn. Which starts me off on a quest of
MOVE MORE, EAT LESS!!!
Yes I know, we've all heard it all before. However, now, I have to do this. My blood sugar is way too high, as well as my weight. I really, really, really, really do not want to get the diabetes diagnosis. I know what needs to be done. And it will be hard. But, no more excuses.
And no more waiting.
My mission for week one.....UP before 9, which means in bed by midnight.
Breakfast every day before 10 (which didn't work out today, because I chose to walk to the clinic, and needed a fasting blood draw)
Nothing more to eat after 8 pm.
At least a 30 minute walk everyday, weather permitting.
No fast food.
Sister Carol and I are booked for a two week cruise in 11 months. We pledged to lose (at least) 52 pounds in the 52 weeks before the cruise. I'm a few weeks behind already, but full speed ahead!!
Now to go fix my oatmeal....

.........few hours later......
walked back to the clinic to meet with my doc. She is awesome. Good news, my fasting blood sugar was only 121, which is so much better than the two readings I got at home a week ago. Waiting now for a couple of other lab results to come back to determine what I might need to do MEDICALLY. She totally supports my plan to get my health under control. In fact she said it was so refreshing to hear, rather than most who say, just give me the medication.

Had my oatmeal which was yummy!!! And now some leftover turkey and peppers with cheese. And then out to attack more lights!

Anne of Green Gables

I love this movie. This is the book our book club is reading for this month. I have all the books, found them in a used book store in Olympia a few years ago. But I do love watching this production. Colleen Dewhurst was always a favorite actress and she is missed. And the setting, clothings, all of it.
It makes me want to make doll clothes of that era. And to put Jillian in a straw hat with ribbons in her hair.
I'm sure that all movies with 13 year old girls make that time much more romantic and amazing. Sure there were problems at the time, but to most girls that age, life was probably pretty romantic and amazing.

Thanksgiving Thursday

Ah yes....once again it is Thanksgiving Thursday. Due to working schedules, coaching duties, Kyle, Genie Carter and Henry were unable to join us. My sweet moppets Jillian and Ethan were here with Jeff and Krista, and Todd was here with my grand dog Layla. Once again it is nice to have a dog around when things happen to spill in the kitchen.



The wonderful tip I learned of this year was to line the cavity of the turkey with cheesecloth and then stuff the dressing in. So I was able to clip the string around the legs, and pull it out all intact, then stir it together with the stuffing that didn't make it into the bird!! Very tidy, I'll definitely do that always.

Also the brining step is a MUST. After watching Alton Brown do a segment of Good Eats all about turkey, I pulled out a small cooler and put the bird in there with the water, salt, brown sugar and fresh thyme and rosemary. Then packed it with ice, put it outside on the patio table with a big block on top to keep any critters out!!

Unfortunately, I overslept a bit this morning, so the bird got in about an hour late, so we ate a bit late, but this bird was amazing. Plump, moist and tender. YUMM.

After doing all the dinner prep and enjoying the meal, the boys did all the clean up and dishes. How sweet is that????

I'm scheduled to work tomorrow from 11 a to 7 p, will see if they actually use me. They did call today looking for help so maybe so.

The photo of the casserole dish.....when I was looking for something else in the garage I came across this covered dish. This was actually a wedding present from a co worker way back in April 1974. It has a bit of a divit, or chip but I cleaned it up and used it for our mashed potatoes. Really a lovely dish.

Hope all my friends had as nice and comfortable Thanksgiving as I did.

Tuesday Thoughts....

I love this photo.  I took it last winter while retreating at Lake Cavanaugh.  It feels very serene and hopeful. 

Tuesday thoughts....

Herman Cain is a dunce and surrounds himself with people who make him appear truly intelligent...

I am really going to miss seeing Jillian and Ethan almost everyday.  Their move is really going to happen before Thanksgiving.

If I would spend as much time actually preparing food, as I do thinking about, reading about, watching about food I would be a master chef.

I truly am blessed to have a husband who provides for his family without complaint and loves us each and every day. 

I really do want to get another dog......

New Layout!!!

WOW!  Just clicked on some of the new options for the blogspot layouts and decided to give this one a try.  I like being able to see my photos from past posts.  Will give it a shot for a few posts, and see how I (and you, if you would be so kind to comment) might like it. 
Happy Thursday, off to pick the kids up at school.  Then back to hunting for my camera....Jo, it's not in the truck.....darn it!

Being Organized

First, I still haven't found my digital camera!!!  I looked a bit deeper into my quilting stuff, but haven't turned everything inside out yet.  So I went through some of my older photos to find one I could use!
Day two of my meal prep is done.  I did go to the dairy today and spent $20.82, on milk, cream, eggs and butter.  All necessary things.  Made the potatoes with the sausages and it was really yummy. 
One of the two books I ordered last week, Cooks Illustrated, will soon become a favorite.  I used their method to make the scalloped potatoes and it was great! 
For tomorrow (well, actually today, I'm up TOO LATE again!) I have a pork shoulder roast that will go into the crock pot and cook the day away. 
Now that I've found I'm going south for another weekend, Lynn will have potatoes and pork to eat while I'm gone.  Also tomorrow, planning to make a couple of cookie dough batches.  Will take some and do some baking with Carter, which hopefully will be fun!! 
I came across a couple more blogs that I loved reading tonight.  One of them had a great recipe for a fruit crumble.  And I discovered how much I really like writing out a recipe!  Seems so many things get printed directly from the source, that I don't write them very often anymore.  I do need to start a new hand written cookbook, so I'll be looking for a blank book to start that in.  Another way I'm turning into my Mom.....
OH!  I also made some great cookies tonight.  Graham crackers, butter, brown sugar and nuts.  I had them while at the retreat, and they were super easy to make and so yummy.  Will post the instructions and some photos......once I find that camera!

A New Challenge

November is upon us already!!  The year is almost over and I feel like I haven't accomplished nearly enough.  And yet it has been a year of many events and changes.
Every so often I like to challenge myself to use stuff up and to not spend money!!  So this month, I will be using up the stuff that has accummulated in my freezer and pantry.  And to see how little money I can spend at the grocery store. 
Thanksgiving doesn't count!!!
And as of today, I haven't spent a thing!!  So far, so good.  For dinner tonight, I had taken some sausages from the freezer and planned to make a scalloped potato/sausage dish, but I had to dash out unexpectantly at 4, and couldn't get it done by the time I returned, so thankfully, I had a bag of spaghetti sauce in the freezer, so out it came, and was yummy for dinner.  And the sausages will be cooked up tomorrow. 
Also will inventory what's in the freezer!  And planning to do some sorting in the garage. 
I completely missed out on doing any fall decorating, other than some quilts, but now that I am hosting my small quilting group next week, I'll put some of the non Halloween stuff out so we will have a flavor of fall at least.
I sure hate not having a photo to share....my camera got tucked away when I was packing up AT the retreat over the weekend, and I haven't come across it yet. 
Anyway.....will be popping in every day this month to keep track of my progress.....plus some reviews and photos from the retreat and other daily happenings....