Six Flags and the Superman Tower of Power

Yes, it was a fun day. I hadn't been to Six Flags in 15 years, and I wanted to ride everything. Well, I didn't ride everything, what I did ride was fun. I had never ridden the Superman ride before, partially because I didn't want to stand in long lines and partially because I was just a wimp.

Today, Lisa and I got in line (which was short) and on the ride before I had a chance to really think about it. It was great!!! I loved it. I love it when I step out of my comfort zone and accomplish something new.

This morning Lisa made Smoothies for breakfast. She has a Magic Bullet blender which she uses for many many things, but this morning it was for banana-strawberry smoothies made with bananas, frozen strawberries, and Silk (soy milk). They tasted wonderful and very filling.

OK. So I won't say what I ate at Six Flags, but it was the best hamburger I had eaten in a long long time.

This evening Lisa used her George Foreman Grill and grilled vegetables, squash, zucchini,and red peppers, and then she grilled marinated salmon. It was absolutely wonderful.

We will be going home tomorrow. sigh

More Low Carb Recipes

We have enjoyed our second day with our children. It is fun to have the whole family together. We get along well, but give each other lots of space to 'do our own thing'.
When we visit Lisa and Adam we always have new experiences. On this visit we went to Grapevine Mill Outlet Mall, seeing many stores which are not in our small town. People, people everywhere.
I always leave Dallas with a new appreciation of our small town.

We always have new food experiences also. This morning Lisa made Low Carb Breakfast Burritos, made with low carb tortillas, and scrambled eggs cooked with banana peppers, and chicken apple sausage. This evening she made lettuce wraps. This is made with iceberg lettuce leaves, stir-fry chicken, and vegetables in peanut sauce. We put the stir-fry mixture in the lettuce leaves, rolled up the leaves and ate them. Great!!! We also had edimame beans which was a totally new experience for me. These beans are cooked in the shell, but are taken out of the shell to be eaten. Very interesting.
This evening she has made individual peanut butter pies and peanut butter balls, made with Splenda. Ymmmmmm
Watching my daughter, now all grown up, doing all grown up things and doing them well, is very rewarding and satisfying. I am very proud of her.

Lisa's Low Carb Meal Ideas

Rick and I are spending three days with our daughter, son-in-law, and their 2 cats, having a late Christmas celebration, and just enjoying being together. Lisa is extremely creative in everything she does, and that includes cooking. While I am here I'll share with you some of the meals she prepares for us.

Lisa has an extra challenge with her meal choices and cooking. Her husband, for health reasons cannot eat certain kinds of meat, particularly beef. Adam does eat turkey and chicken because they tend to be the best of all the meats for him. Meat or any product coming from a hoofed animal really cause him problems. including milk, cheese, ice cream, etc. Lisa has done amazingly well at adapting recipes to fit Adam's dietary requirements.

After arriving at their apartment yesterday afternoon, we went to Central Market which is always an adventure for Rick and I. You see, in our small town our ONLY grocery stores are Walmart and HEB (a small one at that). We get so excited to seeing all the wonderful produce and amazing choices of products we have never seen before. I love weighing the produce and printing out the price labels.

For dinner last night Lisa prepared Stuffed Bell Peppers, steamed broccoli, and chocolate ice cream (sugar free and milk free). The bell pepper stuffing was a mixture of ground turkey, spices, mushrooms, chopped onion, banana peppers and spices, topped with BBQ sauce drizzled on top. The ice cream was made from cocoa (getting our antioxicents!), soy milk, tofu, Splenda, and not much else. They have a wonderful ice cream maker that had finished freezing the ice cream by the time we finished the meal. Everything was perfect.

I am looking forward to the next 2 days and will share with you more about the things we eat and Lisa's creative meal ideas.

By Losing I have Won.......

Yesterday I bought me some new jeans----one size smaller!!!! Thank you, thank you for the standing ovation!

It felt so good to to walk through the store and ignore the larger sizes and the plus sizes. Standing in the dressing room, trying on the jeans, and looking in the mirror at myself was great!!!

By losing 25 pounds (so far), I have won.... fitting in smaller clothes, looking better in my clothes, liking what I see when I look in the mirror, lower blood pressure, lower blood sugar levels, more energy, and a general sense of well being.

Yes, winning these things and more, is worth saying 'no' to processed sugar, and processed carbs. Right now I don't even remember all the foods to which I have said no. Instead I am just excited about being able to wear some of my 'not so fat clothes'.

New Year's Resolutions and Losing Weight

I love it when when a new year begins. Yep. The new year is like a fresh sheet of paper. There is nothing on it. There are no mistakes. No eraser marks. No sloppy writing. It is only fresh and clean, not empty, but rather covered with potential. Potential for good things, wonderful things to be written, as well as potential for writing about things that are not so good. Potential for writing about successes as well as failures. Potential for growth and learning as well as potential for laziness and sloppiness. Yes, a new year is like a fresh sheet of paper.

I often begin the new year with resolutions, things I resolve to do or do better. This year is not different, except that I am choosing a different approach. I am choosing to think of this year as a new book, a fresh book, with no mistakes, no eraser marks, and no sloppy writing. This new year is fresh and clean, not empty, but rather filled with potential.

Each new day in this new year is like a page in my book. I am going to look at each new day this year as being covered with potential for doing good things for myself and those around me, for growth and learning, and for becoming all that God intends for me to be.

My resolutions will be make each day and they will last only for that day, that page in my book. One day at a time. For today, I resolve to eat only what is good for me and exercise. Just for today I will be attentive to my friends, family, and business. Just for today I will seek God's will every decision I make. Just for today.

Yes, this year will be like a book.

One Piece---Not Enough? Or Too Much?

It was just one piece. I'm not sure what kind of cake it was. It had white frosting. It looked delicious. The pieces were cut small, just over an inch square. I ate just one piece. That was all. No, I didn't get another one. Why? The only reason....we were getting ready to leave the restaurant and it wasn't convenient. That's it. If it hadn't been for that one and only reason, I would have eaten at least one more piece, maybe two.

So back to my question. Was eating one piece too much or not enough? For me, it was too much, because my sweet tooth never, never knows when to quit.

What about you? Are you satisfied after one piece of cake, fudge, brownie? Or is your stopping point when someone or something else stops you?

If you are like me and have no internal 'stopping power', then it is indeed best if one piece is too many and we have none at all!

Gall Blader - less and Feeling Better!

Since my last post I have been to the doctor for a surgery followup visit after having my gall bladder removed. At that time the surgeon told me that all was well with me and to go resume life as before which I have done. I am really feeling well with little weakness or pain, except when I sneeze or cough (major ouch!).
Thank you for your thoughts and prayers during this time. I do appreciate it.
With the return of my strength after surgery as come the return of my appetite. Hmmmmmm. I have gained a couple of pounds. grrrrrrrr
This is a crucial time for me. I must once again take hold of my food addiction lion and keep him on a tight leash while I adjust once again to the low carb/no sugar way of eating.
Because I believe in its benefits, I am continuing to have cocoa in my coffee every day. Have you had your cocoa today?

Adopting A Hospice Patient

Being able to make a difference in the lives of others in turn makes a difference in our own lives. Mary Kay always said, "All we send into the lives of others comes back into our own tenfold."

Many Hospice patients have very little family support and are likely to receive almost nothing for Christmas. Our Mary Kay unit is 'adopting' local Hospice patients who fit in this category. We are working to make sure they each have a special gift for Christmas. We have put together a $35 gift set which includes a lip balm, hand cream, and hydrating lotion, all wonderful products to sooth and moisturize dry skin, with a beautiful gift bag and personalized gift tag. We know these gift sets will be much appreciated by the Hospice patients who receive them.

If you would like to partner with us and donate one or more gift sets, log on to my website www.marykay.com/dfoster1

On my website order the lip balm, hand cream, and hydrating lotion. You can do a search for them if needed. In the customer comments section write Hospice patient and I will know you want to adopt a Hospice patient. I will charge your card $35 for each set you order which will include tax and the gift bag. You will receive a certificate for $10 in MK product for each gift set you donate.

If you prefer to adopt a Hospice patient in your area, I'm sure we can work that out. Just put that in the comment section as well.

It is always wonderful to give to others, because each of us has had the opportunity to receive. It is my prayer that God will bless each Hospice Patient who receives a Mary Kay gift set as well as everyone who gives one.

I Won't Have the Gall to Do That Any More!

Yes, that comment came from my pastor.
I had gall bladder surgery on Dec. 7, and am just now sitting back down at my computer to begin catching up on things. The surgery went very well, and I have seven souvenir gall stone stones ranging from pea to dime size to show for it.
The pain and nausea from this surgery has been low to moderate, but the level of weakness and fatigue has been high. My senior Mary Kay director shared some wisdom with me that has been right on target. She told me that gall bladder surgery is confusing to the body and system. We normally associate surgery with acute pain and suffering. Because I am not experiencing much of either, my mind wants to dismiss the fact that I have had surgery, while my body has been traumatized and is very much feeling the effects of it. I need to allow my body to heal on its terms and give it time to do just that.
At this point I must be wise and allow that process to go forward. Oh, yes, I lost another pound!

Thanksgiving Pounds GONE!

Yep. That's right. The pounds I gained at Thanksgiving are gone plus one more! I have now lost a total of 25 pounds!!!!! Yes, yes. Thank you for the applause.
This is so much fun. I looked in my closet this morning and found a 'formerly' too tight dress, that now fits perfectly!!! WoooHooo!!!!
It is really pretty easy for me now. The hardest part of this diet was the beginning. Making the intial committment, and then getting past the first week or two. At first you wonder how on earth you can make it through a meal, let alone a day, without carbs or sugar. The answer: you just do. That's it. Everytime you do make it through a meal or a day without the 'bad for you stuff', then you have more power to make it through the next meal or the next day.
It can be done. I am doing it and you can too!