Operation 10P is Swimming Like the Pelicans

So far, so good with Operation10P - I am faithfully getting on the treadmill and started working on my upper arms with small 2 lb. weights.  Hubby and mom do a good job of giving me time to work out in the mornings. 

I am averaging about the same amount of time each day including calorie and fat calorie count.  So I am happy about that.  I turned my MP3 player on and us my lunchtime dance break music to walk to.  When I worked, I would put my headphones in and go into our break/meeting room and dance to burn off some fat and calories.  Currently I am in a 16W dress.  Will let you know when I go down a size.  (P.S. - I do have to have these altered to fit in shoulders, length, etc.

I get extra exercise when I go out with my dog for walks up our drive and down the hill to the water.  I probably do at least 2-4 little walks a day but these add up. 

It is getting late for me (us country girls go to bed early), so I will wrap up with a photo of my beloved pelicans on the lake and my lovely lilies!!

Spring Is Coming to East Texas and I'm Still FAT

I have that restless feeling you get this time of year.  I can't make myself stay in and finish something (even blog). 

I'll start cutting out fabric to sew and see a cardinal fly by and go out with the binoculars to bird watch.  Or my mother will holler "something big just flew by the window and landed in the tree"  and we all run to the lake side windows to see what is was.  It could be one of the eagles (we have seen as many as 2 at a time), or a brown hawk who is gorgeous, a big grey egret or just a regular hawk gliding on a current. 

When dusk starts to fall I go out to see if I can catch a glimpse of the deer as they come out to drink from the lake.  The sunsets are absolutely GORGEOUS - tonight I will go out with my camera to post a photo.

My lillies are blooming... I am ready for summer.  WHAT - no I'm not!!!  When I retired, I said I was going to work out and get fit.  I haven't done any of that.  I do hike with the dogs but don't really go fast, I am to busy looking for birds and other wildlife to get any real exercise.

So needless to say - I am FAT and not ready for summer clothes.  I have no excuse as this is my 310th day of retirement.

It's time for:  OPERATION 10P.  I should have done this years ago.  Being a short, fat girl has challenges when it comes to shopping.  Being 5'1"... I need clothes that are proportiate to my body and being a fat girl I need them wide enough to fit me.  Most regular petite sizes only go to size 16P.  I can't fit into most of them.  Women's sizes go larger but a 16W or 18W size is to big for my frame.  On tops or jackets - they are long enough to fit me like a dress or miniskirt, the sleeves cover my hands, the shoulder seams hit my elbows!  Skirts and pants in 16W or 18W - I don't need a top, I can just button the waist right over my boobs and viola, I am dressed!!  I know you can get them altered but that is just more money and I don't want to BE THIS FAT!!!

Operation 10P is about getting fit and to a size I would like to be.  I started exercise today.  I got on my treadmill and walked for 33.52 minutes for a distance of 1.61  miles.  I burned 204 calories with 63 of those being fat calories.  I will strive to do this everyday and keep a log.

When I retired, I told a friend and collegue I would run a marathon with her.  Tiersa, I am in training for it now - hope theres a marathon somewhere in December we can run together!!!

Till tomorrow!!

Birthdays and memories

Yep.  Yesterday was my birthday.  Hoo-ray! 

Funny the things you think of on your birthday.  Today I thought about the birthday celebrations I had with my former staff.

I made them sing the birthday song to each other on their birthdays.  Not just the plain old birthday song everybody had sung to them.  They had to do it special.  We sang it in opera voices, or country style voices or in a round like row, row, row your boat. 

My all time two personal favorites were our Elvis style birthday song (think about Elvis singing the birthday song like blue Christmas) for Rhonda, who is a HUGE Elvis fan, and our Spanish style (complete with maracas made from pennies in a jar) for Sylvia (Happy Birthday to you cha cha cha, etc). 

My staff probably thought it was cruel and unusual punishment, but they all went along.  We made the day special for the birthday person.  I brought in their favorite breakfast, we went to lunch (everyone split the cost), them came back to have cake I either made or bought.  They opened all their cards and gifts and that's when we sang.

We had fun.

I miss those times.  I miss that crew.     

Shooting Stars and Family

Last night I saw a shooting star...and immediately thought of my brother Eddie.

It was awesome!!

I was on the front porch, waiting for hubby to come back from the trash run (we have haul it up the hill and out to the road, no curb side pick up in the country).  I was star gazing when I saw it.  At first, I thought it might be a plane, but the pattern was to erratic and the lights were simmery - then it just flashed and burned out!!!

It brought my brother to mind as we were star gazing when the family was here for Thanksgiving. Eddie said he wanted to see a falling star and thought we could see them better up here.  He was right!!  I called him this morning to tell him, he can hardly wait to come back.  He and the girls (his daughters, my nieces) are coming up for spring break and I am already trying to plan fun things to do.  

Family at thanksiving in picture below to left of table standing, brother Gordon and wife Becky, seated brother Eddie, at head of table me and Jim, on right brother in law David, nieces Mady and Kate, big brother George.

We have so much fun when we are together.  When we go to my sisters house, we usually play guitar heros but I got a karoake machine for up here.  We are going to use for my birthday this weekend.  My sister and aunt are bringing momma home and will stay till Tuesday. 

Now, I promised dorky shots of my family so here goes.  We dared my nephew Clayton to eat his pumpkin pie like a dog and he did. He got so sick from eating so much, he threw up shortly after this picture (love you little buddy)!

One of my families favorite things about my new house is the speak easy in the front door.  This is NOT one of my favorite as I can't see out of the darn thing!!  I am short and my husband forgets that from time to time and puts things to high for me - even on tippy toes I can't see out of it.  The family teased me about needing a sock puppet to look out for me.  Here is Kate looking through the speak easy.

When looking for photos of us at Thanksgiving, I found some from a Christmas a few years ago at my mom's house.  We love Christmas crackers - the things you pull and they pop and prizes and stuff come out.  This year we wore the crowns we got ias prizes most of the day.

Now here we are after the picture just doing our thing:

Even hubby gets into the spirit (most people wouldn't think this about him).  He wore his crown all day too, even when helping Paw Paw on the computer!!

Well, need to go get busy on my day. 

Tomorrow's post - will be about my old job life.

I'm retired and I need a planner???

When I announced by retirement at work - people actually said "I won't ever retire, I'd get bored watching TV"....HELLO - is that all you think retirement is???  Sitting around watching TV???  If that's what you think retirement life is all about, I have 2 comments 1) GET A LIFE 2) come talk to me, I can give you ideas.

I need a freaking planner!!!!  I have so much to do, I am not managing my time well enough on my own to do it.   So I broke down and now have a planner for my retirement life.

I told myself I would exercise first thing in the morning when I retired since I didn't have to rush off for a job.  I haven't really started but I do walk my dog every morning and again today I got caught in my PJ's by Mrs Coach (my neighbors, both she and her husband are coaching at the school).    Exercise is going in the planner.

I also planned to do more of my hobbies - sewing, cross-stitch etc.  So far not a lot .. These activities will go in planner. 

I also bought the Rosetta Stone to learn Spanish - I have it loaded on the laptop, but only did it once...again - time for this will be alloted in the planner. 

Maybe Mondays will be for sewing, Tuesdays for Spanish, Wednesdays for baking, Thursdays scrap booking (I need to organized all my pictures) and Fridays for pasta making.    Cross stitch or needlepoint on alternate evenings sitting in the den with the family. Then I need to make sure I have time to keep house clean, do laundry, feed my family,  play with dog, grocery shop, etc.

Maybe I need to retire from retirement - sitting on my butt watching daytime TV might not be so bad!! How did I get any of this done when I was working!!!

Tomorrow - some goofy family stories with photos. 

Have a great Wednesday. 

Wants and needs!!

Today is one of those days when I want to sit in front of my sewing machine all day creating something beautiful out of fabrics.  What I need to be doing today is working on two different presentations I need for work.  Even though I retired in April, I still to some consulting and education.  I throughly enjoy what I do, but today...I will work on the presentations. 

It is a beautiful day here in East Texas..sunny and cold.  Duck hunters are not out today so we have ducks and other waterfowl everywhere today.  Went for a walk with Taz this morning and startled a deer, who jumped and startled me, and I spilled my coffee all down my robe.  Yes, I walk around my property in my pajamas and robe in the morning.  I should probably stop but, we only have 3 neighbors who live close - one at the front of the "neighborhood" who I only see driving in and out.  Two live out on the point near us.  One morning I was coming off a trail in the woods when our old neighbors came driving in, boy did they laugh at me in my PJ's and pac-boots hiking in the woods.  

Tried the biscotti recipe and need to tweak before I post - I added ground coffee and think I need a little more...will work on later this week.

New Years Day and Purple Peep Toe Platforms

New years eve in the country is not quiet.  We had fireworks like the fourth of July last night.  Gorgeous displays set off by our neighbors across the lake.  We loved them but our dog did not!!

Spent most of yesterday on line shopping for a pair of purple peep toe platform slingbacks.  My husband wanted to know why I need these, you going to hike with the dog in those??  Men don't understand what shoes mean to women.  Just because I live in the country doesn't mean I can't wear high heels when I go to town.  

I wish I had started this blog when I first retired, but we did not have internet when we first started building.  I started keeping a journal and will post some of those throughout this blog. 

This blog might be boring to some as I am just an ordinary christian american girl.  I will be writing about life, both my old city life and the new country life, cooking (I love to cook and baking is a passion), sewing, fishing and my goofy family (love you guys but we are goofy).  I love Frank Sinatra, the rat pack, old Humphery Bogart movies (African Queen is the best), Michael Buble, ZZ Top and Texas!!! 

Today is football Sunday and we must tread quietly!  Hubby starts with the pre-game shows and goes all day.  He still follows the Titans (who used to be the Houston Oilers) and the Texans even though we are now in Cowboy country.  If you are in the family room - no talking during game.

 I plan on trying out a biscotti recipe with cinnamon and hazelnuts.  Probably make a Derby Pie for dessert (like a big chocolate chip cookie in a graham cracker crust).  Got a new food processor for Christmas and want to try it out.  I also got a pasta crank and will begin making fresh pasta - can't wait to try out a ravioli recipe I think will be good.  If the biscotti and ravioli turn out okay, I will post recipes on my blog. 

Well, time to start cooking.  Bon appetit!