Roses, 46 and Being Kidnapped by Sisters!

I recieved these flowers a few days ago for my birthday  as on Saturday my older sister is coming to see me for a day and then  I am going to go back and stay a few days with her and my other sister. If I am feeling rested enough then we just may go to the farm to see my Mom.  It has been almost  four month since my Dad passed away and we still miss him horribly but he would want us all to be happy and carry on with living. Today I thought of him when I opened my card from my Mom, when it was signed Love Mom..it has always been signed Love Mom and Dad. But he is here with me today. I was born back in 1963 and was a premie baby.  I spent about a month in the hospital and apparently weighed just around 3 lbs. Over the years I  seemed to make up for how timy I was.Anyway what I think has always been strange is that okay now I am 46, but always within seeing my parents I feel about fifteen! I think they always keep us as there little babies. Anyway the flowers are for you my wonderful followers. I want you to know that I love visiting with you every day. I may be a little out of touch for a few days as my Mom does not have a computer, but I think she just may get one.

So I will try to get here as much as I can, could be a little out of the loop on and off for about 10 days.

Keep doing what you can with our healthy choices and I will certainly try to be good. you know how mothers are, the best cooks in the world. but I think I might be able to stay away from some of the desserts. So take care, Be well.!

Whaat?

Oh I had energy to burn for about a half hour today. I tugged with my left hand, harder and harder, then I did the same with my right hand, harder and harder. I then tossed my blue rubber gloves aside and smiled at my lovely support hose that only my veins can appreciate!  Oh what lovely slender legs you have my dear said the big bad wolf...ok, ok I better go get my medication. What an absolutely goofy mood I woke up into. I love these days when everything and nothing make you just laugh and laugh until your belly hurts. The weather here has been so hot the last few days that my legs have swollen up again, only bothered by this on hot days...so on hot days, makes sense you would want to put your legs into a sausage like sock that will make you believe it is 20 degrees hotter than normal. Hows that for turning up the heat!  I have to say they may not look great, feel great, but they sure work for me. So I am going to keep wearing them. Maybe I will even get another color,,,,They are like the old lady bras, white,beige, or nothing. I want some sexiness! Note to self....design colored support hose....hey don't laugh, it could be my way to make a million, Note to self:::don't forget your idea.   Have a great day!....maybe I could put some bling on my support hose, you just have to wait and see. lol

Could I Limbo?

I wish for just one moment that I could wake up in the morning and not feel the aches and pains I do. Now I know that mine are nothing to others, but do you remember the days when you could do anything whenever you wanted, not that I would want to be doing summersaults on my head like my newphew, This young whippersnapper just goes and goes, Yesterday I tried to stand on my bed, now it has a feathertop feather matress on it, which is not very stable, I had a heck of a time just trying to level two pictures. If I did not have the headboard to support me, I would have easily fallen, hopefully on the bed, not onto the floor. So I have decided that I am going to work on getting more limber and this will have to start with stretching and doing my Tai Chi. There are so many benefits of Tai Chi, I don't know why I start and then stop, and now have to start again, but me joints are starting to talk to me!  If they could talk they would be like, HEEEEY LAAADY!
So why I am so concerned with my health and getting healthier is due to all these cutbacks that I am hearing about everyday on the news, Unfortunately a vast majority of their clearcut opinions on how to improve an already failing system is to hit the seniors hard!  There is also talk about closing mental health care facilities, the problems are that people are not being taken care of properly now....Okay Cinner, breathe, breathe, I could really get fired up over this. Someday hopefully with the grace of God I will be a senior, Health Care should be a given in this country and should not be descriminated upon age because frankly age is really a state of mind. I have a couple of friends that are 82 and 83, they can dance circles around me....I will be watching this one very closely...So the better I take care of myself the better my future will be. I am pretty happy with my present situation, and now that I have vented I am off to have my Very Best Day Ever! 
p.s. I will not pose in the position above for a picture, everyone breathe a big sigh of relief. Have a great day, live and be happy!

Guess What I Lost!

Hi All, so I awake early and decide to go on to Blogger,which is giving me a little trouble lately! Well today I arrive on to both my blogs and I have no followers. I go into edit and poof everyone is gone. So I figure I lost 15 followers which is about the same weight I have lost so far. My followers mean the world to me. Each one special in their own way, friendships have formed. you have all helped me and I appreciate everyone of you....I am an emotional eater, but I am not going to let this bother me, as in an hour everything may be fixed again...if not I hope you all come back! I hope you all have a good day....and well as for me I will try to not sweat the small stuff! Take care for today!

In a Perfect World.

Well the end of the month is fast approaching and I have to say that I do not feel like I have lost anymore weight...so I will be surprised if I reach my 20 lb. goal, You are probably wondering why I feel that, I have been exercising, I notice a difference in my clothes, but I do not see a differnce in my face...Oh it could just be one of those days. Some days I look really puffy from my medications and then the next day, I can look totally different. I think I need to watch my water intake a little closer. My husband has been on holidays at home, so I don't think I have done as well as when he is working! These are all things I could blame but I am not! So Monday am I am back on track and revisit my list of things for me to be sucessful. In the meantime I need to make peace with my imperfections!

Color My Food!

Look at these beautiful colors in this picture of glass abstract art. This is what I have been trying to do when I am making my food, to make it as visually as appealing as possible. In my salads I am using peppers, tomatoes, radishes, carrots, mushrooms, and changing it up each time so that I don't feel it is the same thing over and over. I also have started buying fresh every other day or I find I end up wasting so much, and it just gets thrown out into the compost. I also have vegetables cut up and ready for when I get a moment when I am really hungry. If it is not available right then and there, then I have just set myself up to quickly grab something I may regret later. Anyway I hope you have a great colorful day! See you next week.

Just do it!

John Lennon once said, "Life is what's happening while we're busy making other plans." I think this is a very powerful statement! I relate it to me trying to lose weight and live healthier. If I just do it, it will happen ,but if I am busy making plans for it to happen, it never will....There are a million tomorrows, next week, and really bad excuses, We can choose life or we can sit back and watch it pass us by. I am choosing to live the best I can, so I can live, Tonight I will watch the sunset and reflect upon my day, My Best Day Ever! Life is about choices. May you make the very best decisions, after all we are the ones in control of how we are going to live!You are so worth the work to put into yourself! Come watch the sunset with me! Live well my friends! Be strong!

My Body Is Saying No!

Good Morning, I have been trying to load pics for the last two hours, so no pics today, for whatever reason! Blogger is being Mr. Crankypants today for me. lol. I was amazed yesterday when we went for a drive down by the river at all the dedicated runners out running. I have always admired them because they seem so dedicated and focused. When I was in high school I used to play just about every sport there was, plus worked hard on the farm! What I did not catch on when I moved to the city was that I still needed physical acitivity. For years I had the impression, I worked today and was on my feet all day and I am tired, that is my exercise. Slowly ever so slowly it just kept coming on....and slowly, slowly it is going to come off. Today is a day of rest for me. Sometimes when I overdo it, then I have about 2-3 days where I am pretty limited, always have to be near a chair, and on these days use a cane if I am outside or have an appointment to go to. On these days I still stay focused on the positive things, that I can eat right, drink my water, and just be so that I have better days ahead. Some people look at all this rest and think I am lazy. It is the cataplexy which is a condition of Narcolepsy. Somedays I can hardly put my foot in front of the other. So my thought for the day is to always everyday do what we can! Be there to support one another! Don't let the low days make less of the high days. Today can still be my best day except in might be in slow motion, but I do this so I am ready for the next bit of energy that comes along. Eat well today, make some great choices. I am thinking about you all dealing with your own struggles, Struggles are what makes us stronger and more determined than ever! our goals concerning our healthy lifestyle are there for us to grasp on in order to live our best life. Sometimes we have to listen to our bodies. Today I have heard the message loud and clear. So I will be drinking lots of water, read a book, finish my drawing project and shining my shoes for tomorrow when I can get back to the task at hand. Until tomorrow.

And The Road Is Long

Sometime our goals seem very far away, just like the end of the road in this picture. If things came too easily it would deplenish the reward of achievement. Keep going, keep doing, It is ours for the taking! Let's have the very best of days.
My Rap Song
My days of sitting on the couch are over,
Gone are the days of looking for a 4 leaf clover,
Make a wish, make it disapear, let me have a smaller rear.
When I awake in the morning, let me be thin
please take away three of my chins,
Now Cin your looking for an easy way out,
you got to put good food in you car,
You gotta work and polish if you wanna get far.
There have been many times that I had to stay back.
You see it is energy I lack.
So I am tired of sitting and want to be doing,
I am drinking my water and I am up and I am moving!
Go Cin, Go cin, Go cin, Keep on groovin!
It is time to do the best you can, don't give up or throw the towel in.
You believe, you achieve, and slowly but slowly you will get closer to thin.
Being thin is not my goal, I want to live a healty lifestyle,
So it is clear to me I will be doing this for a long while.
GO cin, Go Cin, Go cin, Keep on groovin, Keep on moving!
note to self: no future Career as a Rap Artist
note to self: What was I thinking?

A Bounce IN MY Step

It was a beautiful day, the sun was shining and for the first morning in awhile, I actually awoke with some energy, which darlins when it is here I am one to take advantage of it. We quickly got ready and as soon as I pulled out my runners, both dogs started going balistic! Total chaos ensued for about 5 minutes, then off we went for about an 8 to 9 block walk.....now picture me doing the happy dance. I have not been able to walk that far for over 6 years now. I had to rest about 3 times on the way. I found a bench to rest on and all in all I was very happy. It is good to see progress being made. I took this picture during one of our rest stops. So they dropped me off and I sat outside and Wain and the dogs took off for a run. The dogs know when I am with them that it is a much slower pace, so you could see the pleasure as soon as they realized I was staying! After that we went for a nice long drive and then I had a nap. Wain went off to see about the extended warranty for out truck. Nothing was covered...We were not surprised. And tonight was a quiet evening, the night was very still so we just relaxed. It was a good day! I hope you all enjoy your day and have a sun shiny day filled with love and joy. Until tomorrow.

Not My Cup of Tea!

One thing I have learned is that when I am exercising I would rather be outside, walking than being in a gym..Being at a gym is like taking a diabetic to a desert factory, Maybe not the best analagy,,,but for a moment think from my point of view. My first day at a gym was oh about 7 years ago, about a year before I got sick. I walk in and everyone is buffed, wearing the latest, greatest workout clothes, nails done to the nines, one little girl was even in this cute little white lace getup. So far so good, my big oversized tshirt and big baggy sweats will fit in just fine!Oh gee that girl that just went by and checked me out maybe she wants to know where I get my clothes!...note to self....she thinks she is all that and a bag of chips. So anyway I meet a young beebopper who must be up on some kind of caffeine pills or something and shes like Hi, welcome, your going to love it, I will show you the machines. No problem, I was doing okay until she wanted me to bend down and touch my toes, so I bend, where the heck are my toes anyway...I don't think I have seen them for two years, but sure if she wants me to look for them, no problem...okay next section. So I assumed I found them right, would'nt you? The next one was some sort of pulley system, apparently you are not supposed to pull your hands quickly off the pulleys, the nasty glare I recieved from one of the other guests indicated that she did not like the rushing breeze that it made as it passed by her, thank god she was just a short little thing I could have put in my pocket. So I was read the riot act about the machine. Sure so far so good I am thinking, nothing like feeling like a duck out of water. So now I am on a stationary bike, no problem I can do this I said to myself...no problem the first two minutes and then the steeper and harder I had to push those pedals. Great it had some road, oh look if you turn this way, oh screech, sorry teacher, I won't do that again...Why the heck would a yellow light light up if you ran off the road. Everyone looked, apparently I must have been looking pretty sexy especially with the lovely red face tomatoe I had going on to go with every thing else. I was so so glad to be here. Then I hear, she is pretty big hey...No they could not being saying that about me...OK the pointing finger was a give away, so i just pointed right back and said, So how big were you before you started? I'd keep it up you should start seeing results in no time, and I winked at her! I don't know why but they did not want to be my friends after that! So as I am biking I thought to myself that they should welcome bigger people in if we are trying to get into shape, But apparently you were supposed to be in shape before you got into the place so you would fit in and look good in those tights and that piece of dental floss they were wearing over top. Gosh how did there mothers even let them out like that....Oh here comes my leader...She had to help me off the bike, told me great job! and that she would like to see me in 2 days...oh well I would just be jumping up out of bed for that one I thought to myself! I did go for 3 weeks and then I became ill falling over with what I know now is my cataplexy....My point behind this story is try and find an exercise you enjoy, it will be much easier. Also life is much easier if you keep a sense of humour about yourself. Don't worry about what others say or do, because your doing it for you! I hope you had a laugh today when you read this! Keep moving and keep up with the water,water,water.

Keep Moving!

Oh ho Moving on a Sunny Afternoon! Thats what ticking in my brain at 503 this am. My plan is to go for a nice walk and take some photos for the Group Blog I joined called Lens Us Together. So far I have learnt so much. I originally had said no that I just have a little point and shoot camera, but I have found it is more about friendship, sharing and learning about other places. I am loving it. Each week a new theme is picked and you submit a picture about that them. Lots of fun and I can go with my husband to see what I cam come up with today. So that will be my moving today, as long a walk as I can do. Sometimes the heat gets to me, but I promised to do some exercise daily, so I am gonna be moving, going on a walkabout in the city. I will let you know what I find, Enjoy your day, do something fun, keep smiling, keep positive and just keep moving. I see us meeting our goal just over the horizon. Take care! Live and Be Well.

Oranges and Exercise!

You know I love the scent of oranges, those spray air fresheners, orange zest. I find it so rejevenating. The last couple of days I have been spraying it in my house and I have started exercising, other than walking. I have got all my exercise equipment together, here is my list, stair stepper,bicycle not stationary, a spinner that you stand on and twist from side to side, a minigym...you know the one you hook it on the door and it has pulleys. another thing you put your feet on and it works on a spring sytem, then I use bunge cords for other exercises, weights, tai chi dvds and about 10 other tapes for various parts of the body, one of which is Sweatin to the Oldies with Richard Simmons which is not half bad! So you know what my problem is with all this stuff, they don't work by themselves!LOL, now that is definately the wrong attitude isn't it. Yesterday I started easy and have made a committment that for right now every second day I will exercise, but continue to walk every day.Maybe that will help boost my metabolism. So that is what I have been up to. Drinking lots of water and trying to stay on track with my eating. I do have my moments, went and got fruits and vegetables for the fridge. When I run out then how quickly I can get back to the bread Old Habits are simply hard to shake. I hope you all have a great weekend. Heres to our health!

Out For a Walk!

Would this be a fabulous place to walk everyday? I would love it! I have to say that I am a dog lover, in our neighborhood almost every house has a dog or two! No big deal unless they are lunging at their fence trying to have you for breakfast There is one young fellow in his early thirties and he has 3 rotweilers. He can hardly control them. I kid you not picture the dogs on their leashes and he is running behind almost on his tiptoes, he pulls on the leashes that he has wrapped around his hand and I swear they go faster, A twig snaps, yes under my foot, they stop and I am thinking show no sign of fear, no sign of fear, and they come barrelling down the street, uh hu they are coming, should I run. Then I thought, theres no way I could outrun a turtle, let alone a pack of killer dogs! As they got to me I put out my hand and they about knocked me down with all their affection. Lord I am just out for a walk. And the guy says, "SSSORRREE ABOUT MMMMMY DDDOGS." Now I want to say I am not making fun of anyone that stutters, I know how serious of an issue it can be, anyway for whatever reason I knew I was gonna start laughing, thinking to myself, your sorry about the dogs, I am sorry about them too. And down to the ground I go, losing all muscle control due to my cataplexy. The man is leaning over my face and is saying," aaaaree you oookay?" I could not respond, one of the dogs was licking my face, now trust me thats a picture, have you ever looked up the snout of a rotweiler as this big long tongue licks my face. Finally I was able to get up with a bruised elbow, a wet face, no dignity left whatsoever to tell him that yes I was fine! I was thinking to myself, "Please don't say anything or I will fall down again!" Luckily all went well, and I was able to make it home safe and sound, I put the key in my door and my neighbor from next door yells, "Howdy Neighbor, and yes you guessed it, Down I tumble off my 3 steps because this time I was startled! My neighbor came running over, waited a couple minutes and then helped me off the ground. I quickly sat in a chair in my yard, trust me I have them scattered all over in every little nook or cranny. He says Cinner I am so sorry I did not mean for you to have one of your spells, r u ok. OH yes I am okay, just trying to get in the house, then I told him what had happened earlier and he says, you must be overtired. I looked at him and said, 'YOU Think? I knew I must be because they are only bad like that when I am, otherwise due to medications my head just slumps forward. Anyway I finally get into my house and I am alone. Safe and sound, and off to bed for a much needed rest. ....The moral of my story is that sometimes I have the best of intentions to do things, like exercise, I could have really hurt myself badly tumbling off the stairs, but I can't live my life on what ifs, so I have a rest and tried again later...All was well. The above is a true story, living my life with cataplexy. ...Tomorrow I am getting all my exercise stuff up and start doing something in the house. Small steps I guess! I had said I would post a picture of all of it today, but I was a little wore out!....P.S. Be aware of a little man with 3 rottweilers and a noisy neighbor! Goodnight! Mote to self...keep seeing the humour in all this! note to self...It really is no laughing matter...Note to self....Whatever! Tomorrow is another day.

Dreaming about food!

I was in bed by nine p.m. as I had quite a hectic day finding my runaway dog. Mission accomplished. yeah I was thrilled...so what does that have to do with my weight loss blog other than when he ran away I was a mess and reverted right back to old ways...I Guess I was searching for comfort food....but I stopped rather than have a full out binge...so that was good...Tonight fast asleep I thought for the night. I dreamt I was sleeping in my bed aand a deep loud voice said, "You must have 5 scoops of icecream, and then I heard it again, and once more....by this time I was now coming out of my sleep and I swear if there were a dairy queen in the near vacinity, I prbably would have went by horseback,,,,instead with some sanity and dignity left I sat down on the couch for a moment and thought....Are you hungry...no, Why were you dreaming about ice cream,,,,no idea.... oother than I have always put summer and ice cream together....that's all i have figured out! Anyway these little fellas had thier ice cream when we took a road trip, as then I had water and tonight I had a huge glass of water in case I was just a little bit hungry.
Now I am back to bed......tomorrow you get to see all my lovely excercise stuff, I will have to dust and find everything....note to self....use what I have. I hope you have a great day and make some very great choices. Take care.

What. ? that is not a treat!

This is one of my favorite pictures of all times. This nephew as most children love their junk food and we found him with this big bowl of nachos. As you can tell he was quite the fellow, the more he knew we had busted him so to speak, the more and more he laughs. It is funny with some children they are so against fruit and vegetables. My godchild from next door, she used to come over and always ask if she could have a cookie or a treat. Anything to make you happy my child,,,Then one day she came over and asked if she could have a treat, sure what would you like, a cookie? No she replied, I have to eat healthy snacks when I come here. okay what would she like, well she had an apple, a bunch of carrots, some juice, and she told me all about eating healthy so she grows up big and strong. Her dad is a fitness fanatic and she will be living a healthy lifestyle too. I learnt a lesson from my Godchild Faith, A treat does not have to be cookies, or cake, or pie, I had just never thought of a treat as vegetables and fruit....So when I have a treat, it will be a healthy one...maybe I will treat myself to a walk today, treat myself to a big healthy picture of water with lemons and cucumber that I have named the Joanna drink..who knows it could take off in Canada. I am going to treat myself all day, and I hope I can laugh as much as my nephew in the picture. Take care all, Hope you are doing well. Attitude is everything.

A lapse in judgement.

Hello, Well I have good news and bad news. First of all I got all the results back from my tests and everything was perfect as far as no diabetes, all cholestoral levels were in check. Everything was great except for the cataplexy, but we are doing everything we can do...So that was my good news...the above picture just looks like a bunch of lemons, today I have to turn it into lemonade...by this I mean I had a weekend of being offtrack with my sister. We went for Vietnamese, popcorn and pop at the theatre, did not eat on time.. It was later at night that we ate. We were busier, she helped me do a few things around the house. She definately notices how tired I am, but the more I laugh the worse I get. It is a new day and back on track, and beacause the weather is cooler I am committing to walking every day. I found a bunch of videos on youtube the other day about cataplexy. so if you want a better understanding, the older gentleman from the uk seems to portray it as well as I have known it to be. HAVE A GREAT DAY! Remember love yourself, be kind and understanding, don't beat yourself up about things! Just get back on track and have your best day!

Let's Have A Drink!

I can not stress enough the importance of water. There has already been an amazing change in how my legs feel, they are no way as near swollen as they were before.

My skin is looking younger(maybe I need glasses)lol

I am not as hungry as I was before.

So let's raise our glasses and drink to having a wonderful weekend! I will be back on Monday. My sister is coming for a visit. We will help each other! I hope you are all doing well and thankyou so much for the support and the encouragement!

Breakfast Menu, One Meal Closer To A Healthy Me

Can you guess what I am having for breakfast? The ones I have in my fridge are so juicy! So I am starting my day with some all bran, milk, strawberries with some almonds for protein. Yesterday was a fair day, but I can tell in the morning I should wake up with energy. I have had two days now being a little tired, but when that happens, then there is a good one after I have rested. Rest is the best medicine for me, Eating healthy is the second! How can you not have a great day when you start your day with such luscious strawberries! I hope the choices we all make today get us a little closer to our goals. Keep your chin up, I still have four chins, but not for long! Today is going to be my Best Day, Smile and the Whole world Smiles With You.

The Goal.

"The fruits of labour are the sweetest of all pleasures!" by Luc de Nauvenargues

So don't give up, just keep going one step closer to your goal. Have a great day my friends!