Childhood Sweethearts

Someone (I can't remember who!) suggested we post pictures of ourselves and our honeys when we were little. I thought that was a sweet idea, so here we are. I am about a year old. I thought it appropriate that I had a spoon in my mouth! And judging from that smile, I'll bet it had a bit of chocolate on it. My husband is around 3 or 4 - isn't he handsome?!? We got married young (I was barely 18 and he'd been 20 for 3 days!), but we've been married nearly 30 years, so all those people who thought we were TOO young can quit worrying - we're still crazy about each other! I would love to see other people's childhood photos!

When Are Bugs Pretty?

No one thinks flies are pretty?! I'm shocked. I mean, look at the little guy, with his huge red goggles, his shimmery blue-green hide, and his little hook to hold on with! Though, to be honest, if he had been on my kitchen counter I'd of whacked him without a second thought. For me the demarcation line is inside versus outside. I've always been an outdoors girl, and I marvel at the beauty of all kinds of unusual things. Snakes, for instance. My mom says there's something heathenish about my fascination with snakes. But have you ever really looked at, say, a coral snake? They are really gorgeous. We have large indigo snakes here too. Once my young son was leaning against a tree by the pond and felt something on his leg. He looked down and there was a 5-ft. indigo climbing him! He did a frantic little panic dance and the startled snake dropped off. Evidently he'd never seen a tree behave like that.

I find many spiders and other unpopular creatures to be beautiful too. My sister and I loved ants when we were little and were always trying to make homemade ant farms, with moats around them. An awful lot of ants drowned themselves rather than stay with us! Maybe it's from growing up in Florida where you either get used to things or stay nervous a lot. We always did a lot of camping, so when we went swimming or canoeing, it was usually in a pond or lake, and there were often alligators nearby. Mostly they leave you alone, especially if no one has been feeding them. Unless they've been fed, alligators are pretty shy of people. I did get to swim with a manatee once, back before it was illegal to touch them. They have hides like elephants and faces only a mother could love. We have oodles of lizards and frogs. We watched quite a drama in our bathroom window one day. We heard what sounded like a girl screaming and ran to find the source. There were 3 frogs on the outside of the screen, but there was the glass of the window kind of trapping them. They were what was screaming! A snake was crawling up the screen, wanting to eat them. While he was trying to pick out the juiciest looking frog, a tiny spider started sidling sideways toward him, ever so slowly. Finally he reached the snake's head, climbed on and bit him right between the eyes! The snake jerked, then fell from the window. So the little spider saved all those frogs! Sort of made me think of the story of the mouse saving the lion.

I love watching all the little dramas unfold as long as the creatures are outside where they belong. Even birds, which are so beautiful and fascinating flying free, I've had no luck with inside. Once we had a parakeet named Midnight. It was basically psychotic. I figure it was because it was caged. Another time we came home to find a peach-faced lovebird clinging to our screen door. Someone's pet that had escaped, we thought at first. My son made a pet of it, and at first it was adorable. It would sit on his head and sing and act all innocent. Soon, though, it became an attack bird, refusing to allow anyone in to his bedroom except him - and then, it turned on him too. We came to realize that it had probably been booted out by it's original owner in self-defense! I use to like squirrels, too. Until one got down inside our bedroom wall! So, if any bugs could read this, the moral of the story would be - stay out of my house! The bugs in the pictures I posted were all found outside and left to live and let live, except the red and black one that I trapped in my kitchen! He was left in a jar to be admired until he expired.

Does Anybody Know What Bugs These Are?

Here is a fly up close. Down a bit I said he was pretty, but here you can see that he is.


This one has a smiley face on his derriere!


I know what this bug is - a pesky fly - but he's still pretty!


Here is one that looks like a fighter jet:


Does anyone know what this bug is? He's not only beautiful, he matches my kitchen!


These were all in Southwest Florida. Anybody got a clue? I don't!

Memorial

Today I went to Ruth's Memorial at the nursing home. They have one every month to remember those that passed on in the previous month. I thought there would be 2 or 3 maybe. There were 13. Friends and family gathered in the chapel, a woman sang some beautiful songs and a minister prayed, read scripture and spoke "words of comfort." There was a time to share memories of your loved one, and I took that opportunity to remember Ruth, and to thank the caregivers that had helped make her final year so wonderful. Several of them told me how much Ruth had meant to them as well. Afterwards there were refreshments someone had taken the time to make, and we all visited. I met some of Ruth's friends from "the lunch bunch." I was very impressed once again by the staff. They obviously consider their job a ministry. Actually quite a few them are volunteers. What they do is such a blessing. Every time I've ever been there, they are invariably cheerful, efficient, kind and compassionate, and professional all at the same time. It would be nice to be so well cared for, and then remembered, by such a group when it is my turn to be old!

In getting ready for the memorial, I sorted through Ruth's pictures so I could take some of her for the memory table. Of course, I walked right out and forgot them on my own table! But the process made me thoughtful. It is really weird going through someone else's memories. Some of the pictures were of our mutual family, but many were of people I didn't know, but who were important enough for Ruth to keep their photos all these years. It would be nice to know who they were. One thing I have begun doing as a result is to organize my own photos and label them clearly. The other thing is sorting through everything I own, deciding what is really important enough to keep. After all, some day it will all belong to someone else. Do I really want to dust it until then? And there was one last result of all of this. As the minister said today, how do I want to be remembered? After listening to what people had to say about their beloved departed, it seems we write our own eulogy through lots of small, thoughtful things that we do day by day more often than by one monumental achievement. The one characteristic most people seemed to admire about their loved one was some variation on the theme of, "She was old and sick and blind and alone, but she never complained!" Something tells me that takes a lifetime of practice through smaller hardships, don't you think?

A Portrait of Four Sisters

(And now for a poem of more recent vintage...I wrote a picture! This poem is meant to be a portrait of four young sisters I know).

Annabelle is a red, red rose
Heart-shaped face
Small, straight nose
Petite in stature
Dainty dreamer
Quiet with a sweet demeanor

Nancy, All-American Girl,
Long, blond hair
Exquisite pearl
And rose complexion
Tall and graceful
Vibrant look of intelligent reflection

Miranda, mischief in her eyes, and
In her glance, romance
Snub nose, artistic hands,
Laughing lips
Tossing back her chestnut hair,
Her eyes dance

Serena, small and blond
With large, expressive eyes
Vivacious, fond
Of giggling, of playing,
Bubbly, effervescent
Little dimpled darling

Four sisters form a sweet bouquet
Rose and Pearl
And Mischievous Girl
Little One so full of fun
Blossoming forth, together they
Dance with joy in the warmth of the sun

Trees!

I was looking through some things and found this poem I wrote when I was a kid, maybe 13. I thought I would share it - hope you like it!

Trees...big, gangly, shy trees,
Little, gutsy, green trees,
Tall, old, wise trees,
Friendly trees, Mean trees
Trees that tower, trees
That shower leaves upon a
Dreamer who loves trees, trees, trees!

Planting and Growing Roses

For those of you who have always heard that roses are too hard to grow, I have good news for you! They really don't take nearly as much work as is rumored. I plant roses in Florida and have had very good luck with them. I thought maybe I could share a few tips and possibly increase the rosebush population! I think the most important thing is getting the right kind of roses. In Florida, the best kind is fortuniana root stock roses, grown in pots. They are grown specifically for Florida's soil and climate conditions, so they are hardy year round, regardless of rainy season or dry. A garden center or nursery is more likely to carry the right kind than the local hardware store is. At our local garden center they cost about $20.00. This may seem high, but they are guaranteed for a year, and I can attest to how beautifully they grow and bloom.

Once you've decided on which rose bushes you want, you've got to find the perfect spot to plant them. They really need at least six hours of sunshine a day directly on them. If you plant them where they will be shaded all morning by your house, or half the afternoon by a tree, they won't do as well. Ours went crazy once the tree in our front yard was taken down by Hurricane Wilma! I miss our tree, but one of the roses is about 8' tall by 8' around now, so it is practically a tree itself! Also, your roses need to be 4' apart. That way they get air flow, plenty of sun, and they don't share any mites, mildew or black spot as easily!

Water the rose thoroughly with root stimulator. Next, dig a hole 12" deep and 24" wide. This is very important. The roots get lazy and won't grow in to the surrounding soil if it is too tightly packed. If you dig a big enough hole, the roots will have room to expand easily and will be strong enough to go further. Mix the following ingredients well, in a wheelbarrow: One cubit foot of of organic compost, one cubit foot of Black Cow Manure, one cubic foot of the soil you are planting in, out of the hole you dug, one cup of bone meal and 1/4 cup of super phosphate. Mix well with a shovel or hoe. Fill the hole half way with the mixed soil. Place one hand across the top of the pot and turn the rose upside down. Place the other hand on the bottom of the pot and remove your rose carefully. Put the rose in the middle of the hole and make sure the soil around the rose is level with the top. Don't cover the stem and graft. Fill the hole with the mixed soil. Water slowly, then fill again if needed. Now you may want to place a mulch mat tree ring around the rose to help with weeds. On top of that, you can put decorative rocks if you like. We put paving stones around each rose in a pattern as well, as more protection. We like mulch or a pretty ground cover between the roses, but of course you can always do rocks all around as is popular. If you don't want to do these things, at least make sure you don't let mulch, grass or weeds get up close around the bottom of the rose. The rose will like to drain well and not be smothered with anything.

About three weeks after planting, you'll want to begin fertilizing. I use Bayer Advanced Rose and Flower Care. It is a fertilizer and insecticide all in one. I pour a capful of the granules around each rose bush every six weeks or so, and it works really well. One time when things were very dry, I got some mites on the rose leaves, and I had to spray a fungicide on them, but that killed them and I've never had them again. Other than this, I water them if it isn't raining enough, and deadhead them. And of course, pull any adventurous weeds that get past all my barriers. As for deadheading them, the old way of cutting back to the first branching out isn't necessary. I snip off the old rose right behind the neck, and the bushes bloom much more prolifically then they ever did in the past. If there is ever a cane growing under the graft, I snip it off right to the root, but otherwise I only prune to shape a little. If a branch grows out across the path, I prune it at an angle so the new growth will go up, for instance. Sometimes the bush will be covered with roses, then they will be spent, so it kind of ebbs and flows that way, but different bushes bloom at different times, so I truly do have roses year round. I hope you'll try it too. The world can always use more roses!

Goodbye, Ruth

My husband's Aunt Ruth died Saturday in Hope Hospice. She came to live with us a year ago when her husband of 61 years passed away. She stayed five months until her care became more than we could provide. Then she went to reign as the Belle of the Nursing Home for another 8 months. She was a funny, sweet, feisty, generous lady and we were blessed to get to know her better. She loved Nascar racing, and thought Tony Stewart was wonderful! She worked at the telephone company all her life, but to her dismay, realized she no longer understood how to use the telephone. She loved music, flowers, getting her hair done, and eating anything sweet. We had to track her down to visit her at the nursing home. She was always off doing something fun, and when we did find her she was full of stories about winning at Bingo, ("I won a quarter! Big deal!" she'd grin), going out to eat, watching musical performances, attending church services and making new friends. ("There are such nice people here!" she'd tell me). Ruth was generous all her life and even at the home she was always trying to give her things away to the other residents or use her Bingo winnings to buy candy for the staff. She loved new experiences and refused to live in the past. "I won't worry," she told me frequently. "Worry causes wrinkles!"

When Ruth was going to go in the nursing home, she told me she hoped they would offer dancing lessons. Well, now she is in her permanent home - and I'll bet she's dancing!

A Blessed Resurrection Sunday to You All

A New Appreciation For Water

Recently our son was replacing the water pipes to our house and had to turn off our water for 24 hours. I had some jugs filled with water and tea, some hand sanitizer, and I was prepared. Or so I thought. But as it turns out, I had no idea I used so much water during the course of one day! I had some water for drinking. But even if I wanted to make more tea, or powdered milk, or lemonade, I needed water. I had prepared a way to cleanse my hands, but when I went to prepare lunch, I couldn't rinse the strawberries or the celery. Preparing dinner was going to be interesting also. No boiling of anything! Of course I couldn't wash dishes, or do laundry. I couldn't wash the car, either, or water the garden. I couldn't even really work too hard in the garden, because I would get very sweaty and dirty and want a shower. Exercising could get pretty sweaty, too, come to think of it! As each hour in the day passed, I seemed to think of a new use for the water I didn't have. When my husband got home and took me to Wal-Mart to buy some jugs of water to flush the toilet with, I couldn't help thinking of the many other countries where water isn't so easily obtained, let alone clean and safe. I've been surrounded by abundant water all my life, to swim in, bathe in, drink and enjoy in any way I wanted. But after this experience, I won't soon take it for granted again.

Prince Charming 30 Years Later

In the years when we were raising and homeschooling the children, I use to secretly think that being at home when I was sick, surrounded by all the work I should have been doing and the children that still needed tending, was a bit like my husband going in to work, setting up a cot by his desk, and trying to recover. Instead, when he was sick, he could stay home, lounge around watching t.v, and concentrate on getting better; sick pay would take care of the expenses, and his normal work was at least "out of sight, out of mind." Even though my husband and even my children helped out as much as they could, I still sometimes felt just a little bit envious.

Recently, however, my husband and I each took a turn at the flu, and I discovered a new perspective on the whole thing. When he was home sick, my work load did not increase at all. Actually, it may have gone down. He wasn't hungry, so I didn't have to cook, and for the most part I was free to lounge around with him, just keeping up with the basic tasks. We saw some really excellent movies and had some leisurely conversations. He wasn't the least bit demanding, and since I felt fine, I just enjoyed having him home. Almost like a little mini-vacation.

Then I got sick. I was too miserable to enjoy myself, but other than my miseries, I had no other worries. He, however, now had to go in to work. Coming in after a full day, he fixed me whatever I thought I could choke down, fixed his own dinner and cleaned up the kitchen. My restlessness and coughing made sleeping difficult for him, but the next day he had to get up, fix his own breakfast and pack his own lunch, make sure I was all settled for the day, and head off to work again. On the weekend, he did the shopping. All of this he did, and more. He thought of so many little things to comfort and cheer me, and he treated me with such kindness and compassion, even when I know he was exhausted.

He took such wonderful care of me that I have now recovered. Things are back to normal, which means I take care of him, he takes care of me and both of us feel well-cared for. But I just want to say Thank You, Honey. This past week when I could only gratefully and wretchedly take without giving much back, you showed me once again that you are my Prince Charming who makes living Happily Ever After a reality!

Gardening in Florida

Ruminate Beyond the Parameters

Isn't it ironic that "think outside the box" is now a cliche? It's so easy to get doing the same things, looking at things the same ways, that even our terms to warn against it become a part of it. Now, there is nothing wrong with the tried and true. Sometimes you need to hang in there, go with the flow. You can't always be reinventing the wheel. But have you ever stopped and thought about how many invaluable inventions started out as something else? In a wonderful little book by Don Wulffson called "The Kid Who Invented the Popsicle," I found story after story of things we all use every day that were basically invented because the person who came up with them was at a dead end with their original idea. Instead of beating their head against the brick wall, they looked for a window, and ended up giving us all things we now can't live without. For instance, did you know that cellophane was originally meant to be a stain-proof tablecloth? Of course, it was too flimsy for a tablecloth - but perfect as a food wrap. The flashlight began life as a novelty item called an electric flowerpot. No one liked them and the inventor had a bunch of unusuable stock. So he removed the center cardboard tube consisting of a battery at one end and a light at the other, and began selling the "Portable Electric Light." Yes, he got rich. And there's the indispensable, common paper cup. An inventor actually came up with a vending machine that dispensed a cup of chilled water for a penny a cupful. No one was interested in paying for water (the poor guy was ahead of his time!), but people were interested in staying healthy, and everyone drinking from a common dipper was not a good way to do that. Soon the inventor met a rich man willing to invest, not in the water vending machine, but in the cups! There are many other examples that teach us not to give up too easily. So the next time life hands you lemons, what are you going to do? How about making invisible ink? Cleaning your garbage disposal? Making lemon merengue pie? Lightening your hair? After all, not everyone likes lemonade!

To Rain!

What is it that I love so much about rain? I love its gentle, soothing sound that lulls me, when the sky is dark and everything is cozy. I love its wild freedom when it is pouring and blowing everywhere, accompanied by great claps of thunder and sky-splitting lightening. It surprises me, coming from a blue, blue sky, as if God is feeling lighthearted and playing a gentle prank. My plants respond to rain in a way they never do to the water hose. The water hose keeps them alive, but the rain nourishes and refreshes them. My children were always extra happy, wide smiles under dripping bangs, when they were allowed to play in the rain. The whole earth seems happy after a rain storm, everything bright and clean, ducks quacking while skimming around the pond, frogs in the pasture putting on a concert. I love the gathering clouds as a rainstorm approaches, and the sun as it breaks through afterward in shining paths straight from heaven. And the rainbows! Stretched from earth to sky and back again, full of shimmery promise. How do I love the rain? Let me count the ways.

Simple Sweets

Sometimes you need cookies in a hurry. Maybe you forgot the bake sale you promised to bake something for, or your child wants to learn to cook. Perhaps company is coming and it's nearly grocery day so you don't have many ingredients to work with. Don't sweat it, cooking is more art than science and there are plenty of simple, quick recipes with minimal ingredients. In fact, I'll get you started with a few recipes I pull out in emergencies. They are really good, too, so you don't have to feel guilty. Of course, immediately you'll see all the possibilities... if I just add this, or that, they'd be so much better, you'll think. Resist the urge. There are plenty of recipes with this and that in them. Enjoy the simplicity of these, they really are better just the way they are. (Yeah, I admit it, I speak from experience. I didn't resist the urge!)

Following are 3-ingredient cookies, quick butter cookies, and 3-minute fudge as a bonus (cook it for only 1 minute and it's icing). Enjoy!

Three-Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies
Preheat oven to 375
Beat 1 egg in a bowl with a fork.
Beat in 1 cup sugar, with a spoon.
Beat in 1 cup peanut butter.
Drop by spoonfuls on ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes.
You can probably squeeze about 2 doz. out of this recipe.

Cornmeal Butter Cookies
Preheat oven to 350
3/4 cups margarine (that's 1 1/2 sticks)
3/4 cups sugar
1 egg
1 + 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup cornmeal
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
Mix margarine and sugar in a large bowl. Add egg, beat well. Add rest of ingredients and beat well.
Drop dough from spoon onto greased baking pan. Bake about 15 minutes until lightly brown.
Makes from 2 - 3 doz. cookies, depending on size of spoon

Three-Ingredient Scotch Shortbread Cookies
Preheat oven to 350
Mix
3/4 cups margarine or butter (1 1/2 sticks), softened
(Can add 1 - 2 Tblsp. more if dough is too crumbly)
1/4 cup sugar
Add
2 cups all-purpose flour (NOT self-rising)
Roll
dough about 1/2" thick on light floured board.
You can cut the dough into small shapes with cookie cutters or knife, or just use biscuit cutter to do round ones.
Place
about 1/2" apart on ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake about 20 min. until set. Immediately remove from cookie sheet.

Three Minute Fudge (Or 1 Minute Fudge Icing)
2 Tablespoons Cocoa
4 Tablespoons butter (or margarine)
1/4 cup milk
1 cup sugar
1/8 tsp. of salt (important!)
1 tsp. vanilla
Mix all except vanilla in saucepan, cook on high and STIR until it comes to a boil (it won't take long).
Reduce heat to medium and boil (rolling) 3 minutes
Remove from heat, add vanilla, and beat until thicker and less glossy. Pour in small buttered dish.
For ICING, boil for just 1 minute, and don't beat quite so long. Pour over cooled cake while icing is still hot.

High School Revisited

I found a great new high school alumni site recently. A high school classmate and fellow drummer has worked hard at making a bridge between old and new. I was able to see current pictures beside the high school pictures, which was a bit of a shock at first. All of those people had been frozen in my mind, forever 18, so to see gray hair and relaxed waistlines just did not compute. But after my initial reaction, I felt the tension of 30 years' peer pressure melt away. I had last seen most of these people at graduation. I took the best part of high school with me by marrying my high school sweetheart, so I didn't look back. I missed the reunions. It seems every time there was a reunion I was in the hospital for something, surgery, or having a baby. This would be the year for a reunion, come to think of it, so forgive me when I say I'd just as soon they didn't do one this year! But if they did, I would feel totally comfortable going, because even though I don't look like a kid anymore, I know I would feel comfortable among these old friends.

I began reading profiles, catching up on people's lives, and found surprises in every one. No one's life seems to have turned out the way I (or they!) thought it would, but most everyone seems to have gotten to a place of contentment. We've all lived long enough to forgive ourselves for not being perfect. We may not have accomplished what we set out to, but we have lived good lives. Most of us have children or even grandchildren we are very proud of, with which we have enriched the earth. I left a profile too, somewhat guarded, but a beginning. We all shared a time in our lives that helped shape us, a time we'll never forget, and it has been long enough that acknowledging that connection feels right.

Heavenly Beach Days

I can't help thinking there will be beaches in heaven. Beaches are just so heavenly! Everyone there is so happy, peaceful and relaxed. Everything there is so beautiful!

It is probably obvious that I went to the beach recently. It was a perfect winter Saturday, temps in the low 80s, sun streaming from a nearly cloudless sky. First I enjoyed the long, scenic drive with my husband, sunroof open and conversation flowing. We chose Lover's Key and after parking the car and walking a bit, we took a tram the rest of the way to the beach. It was a bit of a blow to discover that the lovely, shady Australian pines that used to make this beach so beautiful (and did I mention shady?) are gone, victims of the 2004 hurricanes. When we were younger, it wouldn't have mattered, but we simply can't take the sun like we used to. I used to be a major sun bunny, but now certain medications make me burn easily, and we both used to spend our time swimming, sunbathing or walking anyway, but today we are content to park ourselves in a chair for the duration. Turned out there was a fellow renting large beach umbrellas, so the problem was quickly solved. There was plenty to see.

First we enjoyed a pair of dolphins making their leisurely way parallel to the shore. Pelicans dove for fish, and seagulls swept down the beach, settling in large groups periodically, on shore or out along a sandbar. There were catamarans sailing along, and large boats coming in as close as they could, then unloading people on to smaller boats to come to shore, or staying on board and fishing not far out. Some brave souls were kayaking, and we could see parasailers in the distance. Suddenly off to the left, we spotted Wave Runners, and they just kept coming. We counted 18 in a row, and decided it must be a club, like a motorcycle club. They all made their way past us and down the Gulf to our right.

The people-watching was entertaining as well. There were young couples with adorable toddlers, brave little things who seemed to consider the huge Gulf their personal wading pools. One tiny girl laughed every time a wave hit her, and kept trying to coax her daddy to take her out further. One enterprising young father dug a "baby pit" and set his little toddler in it right at the edge of the surf, where she could play happily in her sand pen. There were folks looking for shells, strolling, sunbathing, swimming, eating, relaxing and even sleeping. Breathing in the salt air, basking in the warmth of the sun and the beauty of the day, I could feel the tension draining out of my body, leaving me limp as a jellyfish. Meanwhile, the surf pounded noisily against the shore and the sun climbed higher in the sky. I finally made my way to the water, shocked and refreshed by the chill of it against my sunwarmed legs. The time passed in the strange way it always does at the beach, quickly, while seeming to stand still. The only thing that changes is the position of the sun.

Back in the car, we weren't quite ready to leave, so we took a slow drive down the main strip. It was bumper to bumper, crawling along through crowds of strolling people, inching behind people-watching people in no hurry to actually go anywhere. It gave us plenty of time to examine the beach cottages with their parking spots underneath and rooftop decks, sometimes three stories up. Finally, after a very long, full, perfect day, we headed home, sleepy from sun, sand, wind and wave, already planning our next visit.

You Don't Have to Lose 100 Lbs. - Part III

The thing that amazed me the most was how much I was able to eat! The foods I ate were far more satisfying than I had been eating previously, and then I either didn't miss the treats, or really savored smaller amounts. Whereas before, I might eat a candy bar, and then not be hungry for a proper lunch, then eat 2 or 3 helpings at dinner of casserole or whatever, and not be hungry for veggies, now I was enjoying a large, satisfying meal and not wanting dessert, or having 1/2 a candy bar once a week. I also discovered small but satisfying treats. I realized that when I ate one little chocolate chip cookie, which was 2 carbs and about a zillion calories, I was really only eating it for the chocolate. So for me it is much smarter to just have a handful of chocolate chips themselves. Thirty-three is one serving, about 60 calories and only 1 carb. If I eat them slowly, I really get that chocolate that I crave without much harm. And for me, semi-sweet gives me what I need without making me want more, whereas I cannot stay away from milk chocolate. I also discovered that when I just plain have the munchies, it doesn't have to be potato chips that I eat. It's too easy to eat a whole bunch before I come to my senses. If I eat the little, tiny carrots instead, I can eat as many as I want, and when I am ready to stop, I haven't really done any harm. I was surprised to realize how often I ate because I was thirsty, too, so I learned to drink a glass of water if I was hungry when I didn't need to eat. It also helped to chew gum after eating a proper meal, as a signal that the meal was over and it was time to stop eating for awhile. My sister, on the other hand, tends to nibble while she's cooking, so that's when gum helps her.

There are many tips and tricks that work for different people, but the bottom line is finding what works for you. Actually, this is getting sensible. We were tricking ourselves before when we had an unhealthy relationship with food. Food is fuel for our bodies. It isn't companionship, entertainment, comfort, recreation or most of the other things we use it for. Many times we should be taking a walk, or a nap, making a phone call or reading a book, praying, and even fasting instead of eating. When we do eat, we can take pleasure in choosing from a wide variety of healthy, tasty nourishment that fuels our other activities. It's time to find new ways of being well-rounded!

You Don't Have to Lose 100 Pounds - Part II

The turning point for me was ending up in the hospital for a week when I hadn't even known I was sick. All I did was go to church! While there I participated in a free blood pressure screening, more to please the friend who had set it up as a ministry than anything. But my blood pressure was something like 250/130. They called it a hypertensive crisis. At the emergency room they discovered I also had really high blood sugar. By the time they released me I was on roughly 21 pills a day, which "lowered" my blood pressure to about 164/101 and my sugar to 271. Not very encouraging.

While I was in the hospital, I was visited daily by two different dietitians, one for the hypertension and one for the diabetes. Their advice wasn't exactly contradictory, but basically what one would allow me the other one wouldn't. I remember pouting that they were putting me on a no-food diet! When I got home, though, I sat myself down and took a hard look at what I had been doing to get myself in this mess, and what I could do to get myself out of it. The scenario of a very long term nursing home situation while I was still in my 40's had been painted for me in lurid detail, and it didn't appeal to me a whole lot.

The first thing I did was think of food as fuel, almost as a scientific formula. I thought about which foods provided which nutrients, especially protein, carbohydrates and fats. I thought about how much I needed when, and what combinations would please me the most. I began writing down what I ate when, how many calories, carbohydrates and sodium grams each had, how much water I drank and how much exercise I did. I measured everything. I really worked hard at learning about food and nutrition and how it all affected me personally. After a while I began to learn enough to be able to cut some corners without harming myself. For instance, the diabetes educator taught me about the plate method of serving up dinner. One-half of the plate was to be devoted to vegetables of some kind. Salad, green beans, whatever I wanted, and lots of it. A fourth of the plate was some sort of protein and a fourth was a carb. I could add a milk or fruit, but I learned it was better to have them at a different time. In other words, eat more often during the day with less at each sitting. And many people have learned that they do better eating off smaller plates. What I did was splurge on veggies, which took the edge off my hunger, and then I found the 1/2 to 1 cup of pasta or potatoes and the 3 oz of meat were more than enough!

Then I learned ways to measure portions more easily. Your measuring device is literally in the palm of your hand! The tip of the thumb is about 1 teaspoon - think butter or mayo. The closed fist is the size of 1 cup. The palm of the hand is the size of a portion of meat, about as thick as the little finger is wide. There are other tips, too. A medium-sized potato is about the same size as a computer mouse, or 1/2 a soda can. A golf ball measures about 1/4 cup. 1 oz of nuts is about 2 full shot glasses. Fill a coffee mug with pretzels - that's about 3/4 oz. One chicken thigh or leg is about 2 oz of meat, while 1/2 of a chicken breast is 3 oz.

You Don't Have to Lose 100 Pounds - Part I

When you hear about someone who has lost 100 pounds, doesn't it just inspire you to do the same? No, me either. It's not that I'm not happy for them. It's that, just like if someone won a million dollars on a game show, gold in the Olympics, or the Nobel Peace Prize, it doesn't seem to have anything to do with me. It's too big and I don't even know where to begin. To me it is much more inspiring to hear of someone who is gradually losing weight and thereby getting healthier. If that is what inspires you too, then I have good news for you. I'm doing it, and I can show you how you can do it too.
First of all, Joslin Diabetes Center has done a study showing that people who lose just 7% of their weight along with a program of moderate-intensity exercise for six months, improved their blood vessel function by 80%! Seven percent is doable. The example they give is a 220lb, 5'5" tall woman losing 16 pounds. I think 7% is an excellent goal to shoot for. When you reach it, you can do another 7%, right? And even if you don't, you have still succeeded in making yourself healthier, along with building true healthy habits that you can probably stick with long term.
Another sticking point for a lot of people is going on a diet. They don't believe they'll be able to keep it up long enough to do any good. The good news and the bad news is that your new eating plan needs to be something you can live with, not something you "do" for a short time. But that's really better news than you may realize. If you know you are developing a new way of dealing with food, you are more apt to take the time to think it through and make choices you'll really like. Because the truth is, food is NOT your enemy! Food is given to us by God to nourish us. Nourishment has connotations of fueling our bodies, sure, but it also has unmistakable connections with comfort as well. It's ok to like food! Liking food will not make you fat. Really enjoying what you do eat will actually make it a lot easier to skip the food you've decided you don't want to eat.