Flip-flops in NY (Babytease)

At Home Day 19

I put the grannies together for Miranda's afghan. I'll do the border this week. My arm is just to sore to continue with the crochet for the next day or two.

The Big Brother 14 live feeds have been keeping me busy this season. I've never gone ahead and purchased them before, since I couldn't watch from work anyway. But this summer is different.  I waited until I was home about ten days before indulging. I had to really consider the expense, since I'm not working. But I gave in since I cut the cable two months ago. I'm saving tons that way.  If I miss anything on the live feeds I just go to www.bbdish.blogspot.com/.  I love that blog for BB updates.

Other than that I'm watching Poirot and some of my gruesome shows such as "Cold Blood" and "Deadly Women" on Netflix.  I've found a couple of movies I haven't seen before, but I am just not in the mindset for 90 or 120 minutes of one thing.

When my son got home we played Monopoly (Disney version). He won, but I'm ready for the next match!

At Home Day 13

Today is my son's day off from work. He cooked a few meals while I sat in a chair in the door to the kitchen - bossing him around the entire time. He's such a good sport.

Then he kept me company watching movies and physically throwing stuff out for me while I purged a pile of paperwork. It's such a great feeling to be getting things done in this apartment even while I can't get around.

 These guys were asleep all day while we were hard at work. Love these guys!

I'm looking for a kitten

A few weeks back we lost our adorable Otis.  Literally, he just was not in the apartment when I got home one night.  I'm hoping he got out and is living in someone else's apartment.  We put up fliers but they were taken down. It's really broken my heart because I got so attached to him so quickly.

In the meantime Bella is really suffering. She didn't like Otis at first because she had never been around another cat.  But she got used to him, and right before he disappeared they were really getting along.

Now she cries for him.  I think she smells him and starts looking for him.  Her wailing is so sad to listen to.

I want a kitten so she won't be intimidated by the size.  I think a baby will be just what she needs to keep her company, and to teach her how to take care of it.  Female or male, fixed or not, I need to get a baby for my cat (and me).

Unlucky Friday the 13th for me

I warmed up my lunch at work this afternoon. I carried it back to my desk. Instead of placing the dish on the desk before sitting down, I sat and swerved to place the dish on my desk.  While my body went one way, my dish and food went another.  Straight down. Some of the food fell in the recycle bin, garbage bin, on the carpet and some boxes.  That was when the migraine started.  No hair salon for me today, but I did take these when I got off the bus when I got home.

 

This is up the block from where I live. 

The bottom two shots are from the building where I live.

Eating better, day one

I got to work and emptied my desk of all junk food.  My "no salt" pretzels and "no salt" chips, Weight Watchers cakes and other crap from my drawer.  I did hold on to my peanut butter and blanched, no salt almonds.  But I haven't snacked on them at all today.

I have had no soda, diet or otherwise.  I miss my Diet Dew.  I was down to one 12oz can per day, but that is over now.

I had a high-protein breakfast sandwich from Subway (no chips!!!) with a parfait, but I only treat myself to that once every two weeks.  Tomorrow will be different.

Lunch was salad, cooked asparagus and broccoli, 4oz shrimp, about 2 oz of pasta and some fruit (about five grapes and an orange slice) with an iced tea from Starbucks (Equal, no sugar).  No candy, not even on the day after Halloween.  I am so proud of myself so far.  You might be laughing, but this is an accomplishment for me.  I AM A SUGARHOLIC!

I just need to watch out how all of those veggies are going to affect me.  I hope it's okay.

Rock bottom - food wise

About two years ago I found out my blood pressure was a little high.  I had never had high blood pressure before.  It stayed kind of high so my doctor insisted I lose some weight.  He asked for ten pounds.  I stayed the same weight for months.  I dropped the salt as much as possible, but the weight stayed the same.  Before I knew it I started to binge.  Only once in a while, but nonetheless, it worried me because I had never had that bad habit before. 

So two years later my pressure is high and I have been ignoring that fact that I am putting on weight while trying to lose it.  Only me...  None of my friends have said anything, but I've seen the looks.  I can honestly say I've never been so big.  I'm getting older and this is getting me nowhere.  My health is also making me more worried.

So today is the day I have decided to get it together.  Yes, Halloween.  Candy day.  I was feeling so uncomfortable at work, in clothes that truly didn't fit.  I guess I needed that to wake me up.  Not the fact that I can't breathe after one flight of stairs from the subway platform to the ground level.... No, not that.

I've had IBS since I was eight years old.  As I grew older I realized how fruits and veggies irritated my IBS.  No fruits, fruit juice or veggies, cooked or uncooked for years.  But my IBS is almost gone and I am now able to eat these healthy gems that will help me to move forward.  I've integrated them into my meals to test and retest how my body handles them.

Exercise has never been something I enjoyed.  The last time I was going to a gym I was there for about five months, using a trainer, but did not lose one pound.  I was hungry all of the time.  I don't know what willpower is when it comes to food.  I never have.  It's always been my emotional crutch.  Celebrations, boredom, despair, you name it, food is involved.  The saddest part is that I know better.  I know how it's supposed to be done, and in a healthy way, and I still do this to myself.

Well, I'm taking a stand.  I'm not making any predictions because I am too overwhelmed as it is.  But please come back to check on my progress.

Kim

 

Pinterest Addiction

I haven't been keeping up with my blogs because I am always looking for inspiration on Pinterest.com.  The thing is, I'm finding it.  All of it.  I have found so many new recipes, ones I am able to find ingredients to, and execute.  I also find tons of wonderful creations, whether it is sewing or holiday crafts and decor or photography inspiration.  The photos on Pinterest have links to the original posts or owners of the pics.  I am discovering so many new blogs and personalities I have decided to follow on Twitter and Facebook.

I don't want to even get started on about how much I dislike Facebook's new look and direction.

In the past few months I have learned to "coupon" and buy my groceries with the intention of cooking all meals for one week on Sunday.  I am saving so much money having learned how to plan my meals, even if only one week at a time.  Many of the suggestions are that you cook for four weeks at a time, and only visit the grocer once every four weeks.  I just can't do that.  At least not yet.  I don't freeze all of our meals like others do, because I live in a small apartment with an even smaller freezer.  But we (my son and I) make meals that keep in the fridge and freezer.  I like the feeling of efficiency and frugalness.  I get to splurge on other things because I am saving so much.  I also love the notion of not having to scramble to put my breakfast and lunch together to take to work in the morning before I leave.  It's already done for me for the most part.

I have turned my kitchen closet from a catch-all to a kitchen pantry.  There is nothing but food and laundry supplies in there.  I love knowing where everything is.  It's taking a little while to remember where things are after 10 years of them being all over the kitchen, in different cabinets and counters, but we are getting the hang of it.  The sun is no longer ruining my bread and fruit.  It's all in the dark now.

Speaking of laundry supplies... I am amazed at the number of items we should be making ourselves, for the environment's sake, and our wallets' sake.  As I test these items, like laundry detergent, febreeze and so on, I'll let you know how much I like them, and how costly - or not - they are, not to mention the link to the blog I found the recipe at.  These people deserve a lot of credit.  It's time we all stop using so many chemicals in our everyday life and these people (not all women) deserve much praise.

I am so excited to start canning.  I want to start with jellies and move on to pickles eventually.  I have bought my utensils and found the jars every inexpensive at Whole Foods of all places.  I am going to start slow.  I don't want to waste food if it doesn't go well.  Small batches of yummy stuff.  You can't go wrong with that.

Be my guest to visit my favorite pics at:  Pinterest

Puruse, enjoy, request an invitation to set up an account with them.  Yes, it's by invitation.  But it's well worth it and it's free.

Back again

This hasn't been a particularly busy summer, but I have been real distracted.

First off, my son graduated high school. Congratulations Scott!

His three best friends also graduated, but from different schools:

This is Kashawn.

The two guys in the middle are Christian and Bishop.  These are my four boys.  I am so incredibly proud of them.

Just a few days after graduation we went on a cruise, a gift from my dad and his girlfriend to Scott for graduation. We had a ball.  It was our first cruise.  My dad and his girlfriend are pros at it.  We went to Grand Cayman and Cozumel.  I can't wait to go back to Mexico. And on another cruise.

Since then we've been home dealing with heat waves and thunderstorms and the boys not knowing what to do with themselves until school (c0llege) starts in Sept.

Scott and I have been experimenting with recipes I've found on www.pinterest.com. Some are crock pot recipes because it was just too hot to turn on the stove/oven.  Others have been for freezing meals for a week or two.  So far all of our attemps have been successes.  To find some of the recipes we've tried you can go to:  Pinterest recipes

This past Saturday made a bunch of food in case we didn't have water on Sunday.  I really need to be prepared for life.  So doing this is right up my alley.  Why cook 7 days a week when you can do it all in one?  And I love to cook, it's just the clean up. But this way I clean up to use the same pots and so on over again. 

I highly recommend Pinterst, so even if you don't want to see the recipes, go there for the eye candy.

Travel: Trip home last Friday

Last Friday the weather was cold, but clear, so I decided to take a lazy trip home on the bus.  Well, I made a big mistake.  In these photos I am standing at Delancey and Bowery, looking south, towards Chinatown and the Manhattan Bridge to Brooklyn, waiting for a bus that took way too long to arrive.  It was my own fault.  I always forget that Friday evening rush hour is the WORST time to wait for a bus.

This is the restaurant supply district, which used to be the lamp store and lighting district.

The bridge is right in the middle of the frame, behind the brown and white buildings.

Now I'm facing north, on Bowery.  This turns into Third Avenue.  I used the zoom so you can see The Empire State Building.  Directly to my right, about one block north, is the Bowery Mission.  This used to be the actual "Skid Row."  Now the neighborhood is all cleaned up with a museum and some new restaurants and club.  All of the Lower East Side has been "renewed".

At this point I made it to Astor Place (8th St) and Third Avenue.  The local bus driver was driving so slow I got off to get a "Limited" (express) bus.  This was taken while I was facing south on Third Avenue.  I froze to death out there that night.  It took me almost three hours to get home, all in Manhattan.  But I thought you all might like to see these two buildings.

 

Random: What do you keep in your vehicle?

I live in a small apartment, so somethings that might be in your garage, are residing in my van.

But these are most of the things I keep in my vehicle:

1. Maps, Post-Its,  pens, tape and scissors in the glove compartment.
2. Q-tips, floss sticks and feminine stuff for emergencies. All in glove compartment too.
3. A holder for my phone on the dash. I don't talk or text while driving, but I like to know who is calling when I can't pick up. Plus it can charge from there.
4. Chargers for my iPod and phone.
5. A GPS I've never used.
6. A pair of flip-flops. My feet sweel when I sit too long.
7. An umbrella. I hate to get my face and hair wet.
8. All of the store coupons I print out of Friday before shoppingon Saturday. Some have not expired so I leave them in the van in a folder.
9. Wipes and a small box of plastic spoons. Silly, I know.
10. A small cooler that holds maybe, a six pack with some ice. I save so much money on long and not so long trips if I can bring my own drinks.
11. A blanket. I keep it protecting the back seat, but you never know when you can get stranded.
12. Arm & Hammer baking soda.  I don't like strong smells. A gallon of milk leaked in my van once and stunk it up because I only drive on weekends. The baking soda did the trick.
13. Reusable grocery bags, and my grocery cart to take the packages upstairs. I live on the 16th floor and my parking lot is a good half block away. I don't have the room to store the cart in my apartment any more.
14. Any Goodwill stuff that needs to be dropped off.  I hate seeing it in the apartment just sitting around, waiting for the weekend.
15. Two extra dishes for my dog. Again, you never know when you are going to get stuck and the dog may need water, if not food.  Love him!
16. Tools including a shovel for the snow, and other junk. 
17. Paper towels and liquid cleaner for cleaning up.