Kranky Post

It is a busy time of year here. Soon school will be out though, and we will change the way we do things. Of note, my 12 year old and I will be free to ride bikes or go to the local swimming pool. I must say, I am looking forward to both.

We are also gearing up for a performance soon. We actually combined riding bikes and practicing music for the show. On Monday we rode a little over four miles to a little park where we sat around a picnic table and played some of our tunes for the birds and squirrels. Much to our surprise, when we finished the last song, we heard clapping behind us! This was so fun that we plan to do it again this summer.

In other areas of life, it is just going along pretty slow and quiet. I don't have any earth shattering things to talk about. I am up and down on the scale. I am currently not smoking. I think about how ugly my legs and belly look with all the loose skin and fat hanging. I will be making mad dashes from the pool side to the water so most people won't see my whole body and all its wrinkles. blah!

Oh, I just saw that ABC's Extreme Weight Loss show is starting back up tonight. I wonder if it will be as lame as the last 17 episodes were? I can hardly believe they have had that many shows! Do people watch it and other shows like Biggest Loser for inspiration? Or to find out answers as to how to lose weight? Or to make fun of fat people? Or to find that losing weight can be done if you can get on a TV show? (I admit it, I am a cynic).

When the 'in between times' of the television seasons start, the really sucky shows come out for a while. Time for me to get caught up on all those hundreds of hours of recorded programing on the DVR. Wanna watch Christmas with the Krunks or was it Kranks?

(searching...searching...searching....) KRANKS....ya, it was Christmas with the Kranks. I'll bring the popcorn! And if you think I am going to watch that show tonight, you can have all the popcorn I am not going to make, too. (sticking my tongue out)

Walk-On dear readers!

A Little Biking Today

We just got back from our first family bike ride. We were out for about an hour and went about 8 miles. Oh my goodness the bike trails they have here, are awesome! We went across the Big Dam Bridge to the Two Rivers Bridge through a pine forest stand to a rest stop that had a full bike repair station and restrooms...even a solar dumpster. 
It was 80 degrees out but we had a breeze and a great workout. I am surprised how well biking has been for us! Now for brunch and then yard work. Busy Sunday at our house! :)

Don't you just love that tie-dyed tee-shirt I am wearing? The fanny pack does wonders for my silhouette ... NOT!!! We had a great time though and plan to do it again, packing a picnic lunch and taking our instruments along to play. I can't believe how much I actually have enjoyed this new form of exercise!

Till next time, Walk-On!

My New Bestest Breakfast

We recently switched from *skim milk to 2% milk, and now to **almond milk in our house. I have been using Silk's 30 calorie unsweetened almond milk:

I was surprised that my usually fussy 12 year old son, liked the almond milk on his cereal in the morning. I tried it in my coffee and did not like it. I've tried it in Kraft Mac n Cheese and both the son and fussier husband said it was just fine! I've used it in mashed potatoes too, with positive results. Today I made oatmeal with it. I like steel cut oats and usually make eight batches at a time in my crock pot, using water.

So today I made a single serving on the stove top, using almond milk instead of water. I didn't want to waste a bunch of steel cut oats in the crock pot in case I didn't like the taste. OMG!!! I did not need to worry about that! The cooked oats in almond milk not only tasted good, it tasted decadent!

I always have a sliced banana, 2% Greek yogurt, and cinnamon in the bowl too. The results of this experiment were beyond wonderful! It tasted rich, fatty, and nutty. It was a little chewy (in a good way) so it was quite palate pleasing as well as textured.

I plan to make a crock-pot-batch using the almond milk. I will then divide it up into containers and freeze it for my version of instant oatmeal. (Quick note here, be careful as this has the potential to bubble up and boil over just like milk will....ask me how I know!)

FYI this is a big breakfast that really carries you through the morning, without needing a snack. It has about 460 calories using 2% Greek yogurt. If you use fat free Greek yogurt, SUBTRACT about 40 calories.
Subtract 170 calories of the 2% Greek yogurt and using skim milk instead, you'll add 80 calories.
OR
Subtract 170 calories of the 2% Greek yogurt and use 2% milk, and add 160 calories.
You don't even have to add more milk as you are already using the almond milk.
(all yogurts and milk are figured as 8 ounce servings)

Because of the banana and steel cut oats, it digests slower and keeps the thungeries away longer. I hope you'll give it a try!
NOTE: My math was wrong and as of Saturday morning, May 18th, I edited this post with the correct figures)

Bike riding is going well, walking is not...mostly due to higher temperatures outside, busy schedules, and today, rain. My spirits are really good! I still have a back injury that is slowing me down in Yoga...a pulled muscle I think. But I am eating clean and the scale has been kind to me for a week now.

That's it for today! Walk-On dear readers...with wheels if you want. 

*I've read a lot of disturbing things about how skim milk is made. I think it is over-processed. Allegedly powdered milk is added to make skim milk less chalky and to give it a whiter color, among other reasons. If I understand it right, the FDA does not require the addition of powdered milk to be labeled as an ingredient

**I love that almond milk has a longer shelf life in the fridge, compared to milk. I can buy several cartons at a time, especially when it is on sale.

When is good enough, good enough?

We often define ourselves by our jobs, achievements, talents, money, or other such markers of success. In the case of weight loss, we define ourselves by how much weight we have lost, how much exercise we do (or don't do), and by what we eat...whether it is good or bad food! But what really makes one good enough?

I am a quilter. I see a project and start it. Sometimes things go wrong and I have to pick out a bunch of stitching to redo it better. Quilting is a process where you make the top and then sandwich some fluffy type batting in the middle and usually have a solid pieced backing. The top is where the work is most intense. Some are pieced with geometric shapes. Some have fabrics cut in specific shapes and then they are sewn down onto a background fabric. Below is a sample of each.

This is appliqué. All the shapes are cut out and sewn down to the background fabric. In this example the edges of each piece are folded under before hand stitching them in place. It is VERY labor intensive and often takes hours of work to achieve.

This is pieced where the geometric shapes are cut apart and then sewn together to make blocks. Those blocks are later sewn together to make the quilt top. Quilters pride themselves on making perfect joinings of each piece so the points are crisp and match up perfectly.

I am not a perfect quilter. I don't always have the pieced fabrics perfectly joined with pointy points and matched up seams. I then get tripped up on the quilting part, where you actually sew together the three layers. Here is an example of someone elses quilting:

 Jill is an online friend of mine, and a most excellent quilter and designer of quilts!

And here is an example of mine:

I have not come even close to the fancy quilting in the first example. I often let myself know I am not good enough to quilt like that. I don't give myself credit for being able to quilt tops the way I do it. There are quilters that cannot even do what I do. If it isn't straight stitching they often won't try to quilt like I do. What I do is called 'free motion quilting'. That is quilting squiggly lines with no pattern in mind.

That first example is free motion quilting of a specific design. In particular, note the stitching that looks like a feather. I am not at that level of quilting yet. I say yet, like I will be that good someday. I don't know that I will EVER be that good. But it is ok. I still can create works of MY art and it will be good enough. This doesn't mean I won't always strive to quilt better...just that until I am there, it IS good enough!

I will also be good enough with this weight loss stuff. Sure, I have gained a few pounds and often feel like a failure in weight loss, but really I am NOT a failure and I need to work on not feeling like a failure. Somehow I gotta believe that I not only WILL be good enough, but that I already am.

My Mother's Day present arrived a day early. A brand new purple and orange bike with old fashioned coaster brakes and no gears. I love it!

 

That is my 12 year old son with me. He just learned how to ride a bicycle a few weeks ago. He's already making plans for us to go on bike rides. THIS is a good thing.....

So walk-on my friends....even if it is with wheels!