Healthy Me: The Courage to Try Again

Courage doesn't always roar.

Sometimes courage is the little voice

at the end of the day that says

I'll try again tomorrow.

~ Mary Anne Radmacher

It’s been a long time since I posted as part of the Healthy You Challenge. I’ve done lots of good things to keep my mind and spirit healthy and active, but not so much having to do with my body.

Until two weeks ago.

You may remember a post I wrote called I Need Help. It was written on a Monday, when I hit the wall but felt so cynical about trying to lose weight. But the next day, I found the courage to once again put my feet back on the path to respecting and loving myself enough to take care of health.

Today, I am completing two weeks of what I refer to as clean, healthy eating. For me, that means writing down every single morsel that goes into my mouth. It means staying within my allotted Weight Watcher Points.

But it also means working hard to eat a combination of five fruits and/or vegetables every day, to get some amount of a healthy protein at every meal, to make sure I give my body the calcium it needs, and drinking lots and lots of water.

So I’m giving myself a Healthy You Badge (thanks Diana, for creating these!)

I’ll have my official weigh in Tuesday night, and am curious to see what feedback the scale will give me (it wasn’t pretty the last time I weighed.) But the reality is that whatever it says, it’s just a number. I know how much better I feel today than fourteen days ago. I know I haven’t taken a Tums since the day I posted my cry for help. I know that I feel so much calmer now that I’ve taken control of my eating again (can anyone relate to that feeling?)

Yes, I’m hoping for good results Tuesday night, but no reading on the scale can match how positive I’m feeling about my choices again. It's surely one day at a time, and I’m on my way!

Until next time…

"5 Things" Meme

In the sweetness of friendship let there be laughter,
and sharing of pleasures. For in the dew of little things
the heart finds its morning and is refreshed.

~ Kahlil Gibran

I've been tagged once again with another meme, this time from The Incredible Shrinking Katschi - who posts the yummiest looking photos of the healthy foods she eats! How can I say no to a fellow birder? So here goes...

5 things in your bag:
1. Wallet
2. Planner/calendar
3. Breath mints
4. Bottled water
5. Cell phone

5 things in your bedroom:
1. LOTS of books
2. Wreathe made out of bird eggs (like the one pictured above)
3. A messy closet that needs organizing
4. Two cats that ‘nest’ under the bed
5. A little plaque that reads, Things To Do Today: Breathe In – Breathe Out.

5 things you have always wanted:
1. To be healthy until the day I drop dead!
2. A long, happy marriage
3. Lots of visits with family and friends
4. A cabin in the mountains, by a stream
5. To travel

5 things you're really into:
1. Quilting
2. Reading
3. Learning new things (there's so much I don't know!)
4. Blogging
5. Crossword puzzles

5 people I’m tagging:
Everyone who reads this and wants to play along! Feel free to opt out. My feelings won’t be hurt at all (sniff.) No really, it’s ok… (sniff, sniff.) :-)


Until next time...

A Few of My Favorite Things

Memory is a way of holding onto the things you love,

the things you are, the things you never want to lose.

~ From the television show The Wonder Years

I was just sitting and sewing a bit, and looked over at my cork board, hanging in the sewing room. It makes me smile every time I look at it.

I love the things pinned on to this board. Much of it rotates depending on what strikes my fancy. I have lots of quotes pinned up, and little mementos of various events. But some things remain constant, including the word "Believe" created in metal and given to me by my cousin Kristi, and two photos of one of my favorite people in the whole world, my ex-brother in law, Chris.

Here are a few close-ups of some things I'd like to share. Click on the images for an even better view...


Don't you just love this little illustration by Mary Engelbreit? It was in the most recent edition of her magazine and I had to cut it out. I love how close these three women appear to be. But I think perhaps what draws me to it most is that little round lady in the front, with the brown curls and big smile, reminds me of me! My goal is to be filled with that much happiness all the time (and a big bouquet of flowers wouldn't hurt, either!)

This is a mini-poster that my dear friend Claudia gave me when my ex and I were going through a painful divorce. I've carried with me and put it somewhere in my home for over 12 years now. The quote by Eleanor Roosevelt, about the strength of a woman, has become one of my favorites. And what a peaceful, calm image.

I have no idea who this little guy is. I saw this photo in Parade Magazine a year or so ago, where it had been entered in a photography contest. It just made me grin! How can you look at that face and not laugh? What a great expression!

Finally, I wanted to share a picture of my sewing machine, which means a great deal to me. Not only does it provide hours of enjoyment through quilting (notice that I'm almost done with the prizes for my contest winners?) but I learn something new every time I use it. But what makes it extra special is that it was my Mom's machine. Yep, it's a 1960 Singer - almost as old as I am! It doesn't do any of the fancy things the new machines do, but it sure is a workhorse.

So that's where I spend a great deal of my leisure time these days. I have good music playing when I sew, and light a softly scented candle. I surround myself with things I love, and items that make me smile. Life is too short to do otherwise!

Until next time...

Silly Stuff

Laughter is an instant vacation. ~Milton Berle

I woke up this morning on the wrong side of the bed.

I was grouchy, I was hungry and I had menstrual cramps (I'm 51, for heaven's sake: much too old for this nonsense!) I tried blogging first thing, which always makes me feel good. But Blogger's image upload program has apparently been down for the past two hours. So I used the time to figure out why my previously almost-perfect credit score has recently been dinged -- only to find that a final payment I made in the huge amount of $28 is showing as being 30 days late. The payment was applied to my daughter's account in error, so now I need to jump through the hoops to get that fixed (and my credit score back to where it was. Grrr!)

So what's a person to do, when the morning starts like this?

BE GOOFY!

Being silly can go a long way toward fighting off those blues that can ruin a day started on a sour note. So in that spirit, I offer you the following silly MEME, sent to me by my friend Marsha. I invite you to post a personalized version for yourself, using only the first initial of your first name in your answers. It's not as easy as it looks!

1. What is your name? Pattie
2. A four-letter word: Path
3. A vehicle: Prius
4. A city: Paris
5. A boy's name: Peter
6. A girl's name: Priscilla
7. Drink: Pepsi
8. An occupation: Paralegal
9. Something you wear: Pants
10. A celebrity: Paula Poundstone
11. A food: Pizza
12. Something found in a bathroom: Pills
13. Reason for being late: Pottying
14. Something you shout: Par-Tay!
15. An animal: Panther
16. A body part: Penis (Hey, it didn’t say a body part on ME!)

* * * * *

One last silly thing, then I'll stop. If you're not familiar with LOLCats, let me introduce you to something that makes me laugh each and every morning:

The website is called I Can Has Cheeseburger and it features goofy photos of cats and other animals. What makes them so funny are the captions, written as if the animal in the photo is speaking. I know, I know - humor is very subjective, but I find these things so funny! I subscribe so I get a few LOL Cats in email every morning. It's a great way to start the day.

* * * * *

So here's to lots of laughter in your day! And always remember: never do anything that you wouldn't want to explain to the paramedics! :-)

Until next time...

Simplifying Life

'Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free,
'tis the gift to come down where you ought to be,
And when we find ourselves in the place just right,
It will be in the valley of love and delight.

From the Shaker song Simple Gifts,
written by Joseph Brackett, Jr. in 1848

There's a lot of talk these days about finding balance in our lives. I know it's certainly something I'm always after... a way to be healthy yet enjoy good food; finding time for myself vs. time for community involvement... slowing down to smell the roses yet getting everything done I want to do in a day.

I know you understand exactly what I'm talking about.

I can get distracted and off balance from seeing something in my house that I should take care of, or something I want to do. So as I'm doing one thing, I stop and do another thing, then forget what the first thing was as I begin to do yet a third thing.

Again, I bet that sounds familiar to many of you.

For me, finding balance in my life involves two things: slowing down enough to plan my day, and simplifying my life enough to focus on what's really most important. I don't know about you, but I can SO easily get pulled in twenty different directions (I can even do it to myself!) unless I know what I want to accomplish, and follow the plan. And the plan comes out of knowing what matters most to me.

We've known for many months that our oldest would be moving out at some point this year. I knew that when she left, I wanted to make her room into a guest room. When she was here, my sewing room served also as a guest room/home office/library/mess. I let the room get out of control with too much stuff stacked here and there. It's amazing how much stress that kind of chaos causes for me!

So I've finally taken the time to get things organized once again. And I decided it would be a great time to de-clutter and simplify. I donated three huge boxes of books to our local library; I sent another three boxes of miscellaneous stuff to Goodwill. These are all things I've thought I HAD to have around me. But in the end, it was just stuff taking up space in my house and weighing down my spirit. I simplified it down to the things that matter most to me, and I let the rest of it go.

My daughter left her bed but took her linens with her when she moved, so I needed to start from scratch setting up the guest room. The photo above is the chenille bedspread I ordered. The room looks nothing like the one pictured, but you get the idea. The bedspread is soft and plain and simple. My plan is to finish off one of the many UFO (unfinished objects, otherwise known as quilts!) I have going and lay it at the foot of the bed, with a matching pillow at the head of the bed. I've moved my office into the guest room, too - and organized shelves within the closet to keep all my records and files.

The sewing room has been organized as well, with labeled bins for fabrics, notions, and those aforementioned UFO's. I moved my sewing machine under the window for more light, and so I can look outside as I work. Hubby put together a small bookcase in there so I have a spot for my quilting books now. There's even room to add a plant, to bring some greenery into the room.

I'm truly breathing much easier today, now that so much stuff has gone away, and my home is organized. I posted last week about cleaning the garbage foods out of my kitchen. That's made a huge impact on my ability to eat healthy this past week. I'm not fooling myself: I've lived long enough to know that I'll have to do this again in a year or so: being a pack-rat is part of my personality (especially when it comes to books!)

But I've made a vow to work toward balance in my life -- my health, my family, my creativity and volunteer work -- and much of that begins by simplifying my environment.

How about you?

Until next time...

I Blew It!

Boy, is my face red.

In yesterday's post, I left off one of the best entries in my Par-tay with Attitude Contest.

Deborah over at A Mountain of Weight to Lose wrote a fabulous post about ADHD: Attitude, Diligence, Habit and Determination. How could I have forgotten to list it yesterday? It was one of my favorites!

Deborah, a public apology goes out to you. I am so sorry, and I hope you can forgive my perimenopausal memory. I use the expression quite often these days of having a "Swiss cheese moment," when my head seems to be full of holes. Yesterday was a major Swiss cheese post! Please forgive me, and email me your address so I can send off a little nine-patch mini-mini quilt for you, as well (qdinca@aol.com).

I think they'll be a whole bunch of crow included with your prize!

How embarrassing! Please let me know if I've forgotten anyone else. And thank you, Cammy, for the gentle reminder.

Until next time...

And The Winner Is...

One characteristic of winners is they
always look upon themselves as a
do it yourself project. ~ Denis Waitley

It's time to announce the winner of the Par-Tay with Attitude Summer Blog Contest!

I've taken far too long to do this, for two reasons: 1) It was hard to pick just one person to win the table runner and, 2) I've been trying like crazy to get the table runner finished! You know that old expression, "My eyes were bigger than my stomach"? A version of that applies to this contest: "My heart is bigger than my quilting skills!" I really was hoping to have it done and ready to mail, but there you go: life gets in the way.

So, without further ado, the winner of the contest is:

Every one who entered!

I'm serious! The bloggers who choose to post about how attitude changes everything are all winners in my book, and as such, they deserve a prize. I knew I couldn't do a table runner for everyone (or I'd be sewing until this time next year. Yeah, I'm that slow!) So I'm creating something like this for the runner-ups:

It won't be anything fancy: just a simple nine-patch block done in those fun fruit fabrics. Let it remind you to eat more fruits and vegetables, something we can all improve on (me included!)

Here is the top of the table runner, which I need to quilt and bind...

I'm lousy at taking pictures of my projects, so the color looks really flat. Believe me, the colors are anything but bland! Here's a close-up of one of the blocks:

And this bright reminder of why attitude changes everything will go to:

Rebecca at Ready Maid

Her post about her life-long struggle with weight and self-esteem really hit home for me. By reading the experts, then adopting her own 'can-do' attitude, she's been able to make some powerful changes in her personal life. Rebecca, thanks for being a shining example of how Attitude Changes Everything!

Here is a list/link to all the winners.

Jill at Life with Nature Girl
Karen at Never 2 Many Quilts
Manuela at A New Decade
Terry at Quilt Nut

Please drop by their blogs and give them a note of congratulations. And ladies, please email me your mailing address so I can send your prize to you as soon as it's finished. (qdinca@aol.com)

And while you're at it, why not drop by Scale Junkie and thank Diana for thinking up and coordinating this whole Summer Block Party idea. She's the mastermind behind it all, so be sure to toast her with a diet drink, with a fun umbrella in it!

Winners, your posts on attitude were terrific!

For me, that's what this journey called life is all about. There isn't a whole lot in this world we can control: we can't control the weather; we can't control the price of gas; we can't even control how fast those of us who give out prizes get the darn things done! :-)

But one thing we have 100% control over, 100% of the time, is our attitude.

May yours always be positive!


Until next time...