Monday & No Power

Just got the internet back up. The power was out for about 2 hours here. I mean, No power, No Bachelor!! OH MY GOSH! How could this be. Since it's so late I'll post more tomorrow.

Blessings,
Magnolia

Sunday & More Blessings

I got up as normal and got dressed for church. Got to church sang a couple of hymns and J drew my attention to the worship guide. There I saw the first extra blessing of today, one member of the duet singing was Annabelle's Mom (see sidebar). We've know the family since their first child, Wyatt, was a toddler. We actually had Wyatt in our Sunday School class & had the pleasure of loving him for about 2 years every other Sunday. I was thrilled and shocked at the same time, I know what courage it took for her to stand up on front of a congregation of about 800-1000 and sing a duet. And the song was about how God is with you even in trials. Oh my word, she really needs to warn me the next time she sings, I won't wear any mascara and I'll take tissue with me. Such a blessing to hear this sweet Mother and woman of God sing.

The second blessing today as a walk at Riverfront Park with J. I pried him from the computer this afternoon and took the cameras down there. The place was packed needless to say. It was 80 degrees with abundant sunshine here today, so what a perfect end to our afternoon.

And to top it all off today, the sermon was outstanding.....thanks Dr. Carney! What a awesome, holy God we have. So here are a couple of photos from today....

Blessings & Extraordinary Things,

Magnolia

A Few More from Today

Saturday - And a True Blessing

I was just going out to indulge my favorite hobby (photography) and received the most wonderful surprise....

I left the house and journeyed down to the State House, I made a few rounds on the grounds and took some nice photos. I then decided to go across the street to Trinity Episcopal Cathedral. The parrish was founded in 1812 and has some extremely notable people in history (General Wade Hampton) buried inside of its cemetary. But that's not the surprise...I was walking around the cemetary outside of the parrish building and neared the back of the property when a man walked outside from the church. We exchange "hello's" and I mentioned to him that the renovations were beautiful (3 years worth). He stopped and asked me if I had seen the inside of the parrish, I promtly replied "no I haven't but I bet they are beautiful", he then asked "do you want to see inside".......I replied with a "Oh my gosh, I'd love that". So we proceeded to make our way through the courtyard and into a side door of the parrish, down a long hall and through an antique door with a leaded cross. Then...we entered the parrish itself, I don't know if I have the words to describe it, but magnificent is an understatement. I was in awe of the beauty before me. The renovations, to me at least, did in no way disturb the integrity of this historic and holy place. I could have stayed there all day just looking at the ceiling with it's polished arched beams, or the rows & rows of antique pews or the antique stained glass windows that surrounded the whole sanctuary. We talked about all the work that had been done to the building from termites in the beans to the repolishing of the organ pipes to the replacement of the granite floors. After a while, we left the sanctuary and walked down another hall to the dining room, where the parrish feeds about 200 homeless every Sunday morning. All I can say is I was again blown away by the granduer of this dining room. It reminded me of the dining room in the Biltmore House, with it's high wood beamed ceilings and wrought iron chandaliers. As the man and I walked back to the courtyard I could not thank him enough for this experience. God certainly has a way of reminding you who's in charge and that there are so many things that beautiful and precious to him. And he knows what so many of our thoughts and dreams are. I have taken pictures from the outside of this historic place for so many years now, only dreaming that I could get a peak inside, well today, God made that dream come true. Don't we have an awesome God. I was so overwelmed that I forgot to ask the man's name, but I have a feeling that God will bless him in some way or another for this kindness. But "Thank You" from the bottom of my heart that you took the time to show me such a treasure.

Blessings & Dreams that Come True,

Magnolia

TGIF - And that's all I'm Say'in

Another great week down! Work, Gym, then Home. That was my day, but that's not what I wanted to talk about. I want to talk about what happened when I got home. J said last night that he would love to have some fried Salmon patties for supper tonight, so I decided that since I had been good all week that I'd indulge him and myself and have that for dinner. But do you know what happened?!?!? When I started making it, it came to me that it wasn't a healthy investment (thank you again Bethanny) and I really didn't want to eat Salmon patties for dinner. I really wanted a tuna salad sandwich. So what did I do you ask?? I made the patties for J since he had requested them and fixed my self some tuna salad. Simple really, I didn't want to eat all that fried stuff. So my tip for the day is this, even though you might be cooking dinner for your family and it's something they want, just remember that if it's not what you want, you don't have to eat it! What a concept, took me a while to learn and apply that one, let me tell you.

Recipe for the day...My Tuna Salad
1 small can of tuna in water
2 tbsp of light or low fat mayonaisse
2 tbsp of sweet pickle relish
1 tsp of sugar
salt & pepper to taste

Just drain the tuna really well and mix everything together. Done. Some people may think that adding suger is a little odd, but for me it cuts the "fishy" taste. And this is enough for 2 sandwiches, so great value for your pocket too!

Blessings & Happy Friday,
Magnolia

Thursday - Almost the Weekend

I've been reading a great book on eating and you're probably going to laugh when I tell you what it is....It's Bethanny Frankel's Skinny Girl book. I really think she has it write about how "skinny" girls (or guys) eat. Some of her rules are common sense and the book is easy to read and follow. One of the rules is "you can have it all, but not all at one time". I mean how simple is that...if you want a burger, eat it, but eat it with a salad instead of fries. Those sort of simple statements have really made me focus on what I want to eat and how much I should eat. So thank you Bethanny. So my challenge for everyone is to really put this "rule" to the test this weekend, starting tomorrow.

Blessings & Good Luck,
Magnolia

Please Read

Please read Adrienne's latest post (Another Extraordinary Miracle on the sidebar). Grab a tissue before you start. If you don't think God answers prayers just read her testimony. I can't tell you enough of how he's answered my prayers about my health & weight, but maybe reading this will!

Miracles Happen Every Day!
Magnolia

Wednesday - Stop It, Just Stop It!

Stop what you ask?!?!? Drinking a gazillion sugary, carbonated drinks, that's what. I can't tell you what a difference it's made in the way I feel, both physically and mentally. I was drinking at least 4-5 diet drinks a day before I stopped about a year and a half ago. I had been having stomach problems for years and had tried everything to correct it. Specifically I was having acid reflux attacks and popping Pepcid like tic-tacs. So to make a long story short, I decided to stop drinking all of those carbonated drinks and guess what?!?!? Yep, you guessed it, the reflux stopped! So now, I drink lots & lots of water, low-fat milk & coffee (can't seem to give up the coffee, I'm a coffee freak!). So, my suggestion to help with your eating habits is to cut down or cut out all the Cokes, Dr. Peppers or Mountain Dews, it's not easy and I can almost guarantee a few caffiene headaches, but for me, it was worth it.

Also today I read an interesting article about Alzheimer's diagnosis..
http://www.aolhealth.com/2011/02/23/alzheimers-disease-easily-misdiagnosed/?icid=maing%7Cmain5%7Cdl14%7Csec1_lnk2%7C45897

Blessings & More,
Magnolia

Monday - Good Eats & The Gym

So back to the work grind today. It's all good though, I love my job and in reality it's easier to stick to healthy eating habits during the week. I always make a trip to the grocery store on Monday's to pick up essentials for lunch during the week. My biggest essential is salad. I love salad, and I don't mean one with everything but the kitchen sink in it, I mean just plain ole Romaine lettuce and a little light dressing. I could care less about carrots, cucumbers or cheese in my salad. I just like lettuce. I think that I'm turning into a rabbit. I start to really crave that leafy green stuff come Monday since I don't really eat a lot of it on the weekends. Oh well, I guess there could be worse things in life. It's high in fiber and low in calories. So, what I'm saying is routine is not a bad thing sometimes. For me at least Monday thru Friday, it's a great thing.
I also made my first trip to the gym this week. Had a great workout, I didn't realize how much I had perspired until I got home and J told me that I must have worked out hard, my hair was drenched. What I didn't tell him was I forgot my sweat towel this morning and didn't have it to sop up the sweat. I'll let him think that I worked my butt off!! Seriously though, I did have a good workout and burned some calories in the process.
So on to Tuesday....

Blessings & Salad,
Magnolia

Sunday - Church & Dirty Clothes

Well today has been uneventful so far. J and I got up and went to church, came home cooked some lunch and I started my weekly laundry adventure. I know that you're not supposed to work on Sunday's but I tend to want to stay home on Sunday's and it just makes sense for me to do it then. I hate coming home on week nights and worrying about clean clothes, so I do it on the weekends. Also, I like to start out my week knowing that all of my clothes are clean and ready to wear so I don't have to think about if something's dirty and have to change my whole outfit for the day. I'm weird like that.

I did have a nice retired teacher tell me today at church that I was going to blow away. I laughed and told her that I still had some "stuff" and me blowing away wasn't going to happen anytime soon. That was so nice to hear though. Especially after twice last year I had two elderly women ask me if I was pregnant. I mean how disappointing. The first time it happened, I was with J and literally about ran out to the car and cried all the way home. The second time, I was by myself, and just laughed and walked fast to the car and cried before pulling out of the parking lot. So for someone to say I was skinny was nice, but more than that I know that what I'm doing is beneficial to my mental & physical health. I've come to realize that whether I'm "skinny" or not is not the point. I look better, feel better and I have a better perception of myself and that's what counts.

So for now...
Blessings & Clean Laundry,
Magnolia

Saturday - Shrimp Fried Rice - YUMMMMM!

Can you tell what I had for lunch/dinner?!?!? Yep, you got it shrimp fried rice from one of J and my favorite places. I found this place about 20 years ago when I was in college and still go back there time and time again. And it's still delicious and cheap. I got a small shrimp fried rice and it's enought for 3 meals! Ok, so not so healthy, but I've been good all week so I decided to indulge a little, not to mention, I've been wanting it for a while. So you see, you can eat really yummy food, you just can't have it all at one time. Not a easy lesson to learn, but a very important one. Other than that, I got my nails done (high maintenance remember), exchanged some shoes, bought some tanks at the Gap and visited a whole foods market in our town.

So how was your day?

Blessings & More,
Magnolia

Thank Goodness It's FRIDAY!

Did your week go by slowly?!?!? Mine sure did. Maybe not so much the week, but the days just seemed to drag on and on. I was so glad to go to the gym this afternoon, just knowing that my weekend had started, what a relief. Although, I think that I'm going to have to go to the doctor's office tomorrow. I think that I have another "gunked up" eustation tube (tube in my ear). It feels a lot like you're getting an ear ache/sore throat. I had one a couple of months ago and it was a pain, literally. It's not a huge cause for concern, but it really is uncomfortable. I ended up at the doctor's the last time, and they gave me claritin to clear it up, that and a really good pain killer (that I could only take at night, since it makes me really sleepy). So we'll see how I feel in the morning. Other than that, I had a great day. The Lord is good. So for now.....

Blessings & Prayers for my Ear!
Magnolia

Thursday - Another GREAT Day!

So when I go to the gym what do I do you ask. Well, it depends. It depends on my mood, my energy level and time. Some days I just do cardio, some days I do cardio and some weight lifting. I do what I want mostly, I don't have a structured workout routine. The only must is that I do 45 minutes (or more) of cardio every gym visit. Treadmill only some days, some days it's the ellipical trainer and treadmill. I try to mix things up so that I don't get stuck in a rut and get bored. That will kill any workout routine. Go to the gym, have fun. Do a Rumba class, a palates class, ride the bike, whatever. I can't tell you what a difference it will make not only to your body, but your overall well being.

My healthy food choice
CUCUMBERS
Only 34 calories per 8 1/4" cucumber (no fat!)
Good source of dietary fiber and a great diaretic

Blessings & More,
Magnolia

Wordless Wednesday

Tuesday - New Recipe

Another great day today. Although, I didn't get to the gym. So I decided to post a recipe that we enjoy...I call it "pot chicken".

1 frozen or thawed chicken breast (skinless) per person
3 cups of water (to start)
2 tbsp worchestershire sauce
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp Lawrey's seasoning
1 tsp onion powder

In a frying pan with a lid, put in the water, worchestershire, soy sauce and add the chicken. Sprinkle the Lawrey's & onion powder on top. Bring to boil, let boil for about 10 minutes, turn the chicken over and continue to cook on medium until done. You may have to add extra water while cooking. You can use the broth as a gravy when done and serve over rice. You might try some steamed broccoli to go with this dish. Quick, easy and way more healthy than fried chicken. Try it and let me know what you think.

Blessings & More,
Magnolia

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day! So what did J and I do, well we got all HOT & SWEATY.....at the GYM! HA! Thought I was going to say something else didn't you?!?!? Nothing extraordinary here, just the same Monday stuff. We did all of our Valentine's Day adventures this weekend.

My thought today is that if you can, exercise. I don't mean jump on the treadmill and run 3 miles, but get the blood pumping somehow. And if you have a spouse or partner, get them involved. It's part of mine & J's time together. We both enjoy working out, so doing it after work together just makes sense for both of us. I can't think of a better way to de-stress after work. Sweat a little and forget whatever happened at work, work can wait until tomorrow. Not to mention that it will help with the grazing. Since I go to the gym and workout for about an hour, that's an hour I'm not at home thinking about things I could eat. So exercising is a great way to burn calories and take your mind off the leftovers in the fridge. Just try it, it can actually be fun. So until tomorrow...

Blessings & Happy Valentine's Day,
Magnolia

PS. Healthy eating Day 1 this week -- check!

Sunday

So was there another reason for this blog?? Yes, there is. If I can keep updating this blog, I can keep track for myself how I'm doing. I know that there will be times that I don't eat or exercise like I should, but hopefully the blog will help me along this journey. Another very real reason was to let people know that about the support that I get. There two sources of great support I have, one is J. He doesn't know how big a part he's played in all of this, but everyday he does something or says something that makes me feel special and gives me strength and encouragement. What a huge blessing and wonderful partner in this adventure. Another HUGE source is the Lord. I have tried to loose weight in the past, but never gotten very far. When I made these decisions about my life and body, I prayed and I mean I prayed hard (and continue to do so) that the Lord would help me. All kinds of help, everything from changing my mind, my heart and giving me the determination that I needed to head down this path. And believe me when I say that he has answered my prayers in abundance. None of this would have been remotely possible without those answered prayers. So my thoughts for today are these, a support system, regardless of how large or small is extremely important. I can't imagine trying to do all of this on my own.

Blessings & More
Magnolia

PS. The Ben & Jerry's Yogurt (Half Baked) was delicious. Just remember that you can't eat the whole carton.

Saturday - New Adventures

I ate healthy today, so on to other things.

J and I had a day of adventures. We both like to do things that are a little out of the norm. We both love history. So what did we to today...well I have a book that tells you things to do in every county in our state. I started reading it about a month ago and can I tell you how many things that I don't know about my own state -- LOTS! I decided that we would start in the county that we live in. So we visited the county museum. It's a 7 acre property with quite a few buildings dating back to the 16th & 17th century. We took the guided tour, which allowed us into several of the buildings. I was fascinated, who knew that about a block off one of the main roads was this great piece of history! Needless to say we stayed for several hours and I got come wonderful pictures. Here's just one of them...

I can't wait to visit more of these wonderful places in the book! So after the pictures & tour, we headed to the mall, then a local fitness store and the grocery store. Oh, and I picked up some Ben & Jerry's frozen yogurt, I'll report on how it tastes tomorrow! So until then.......

Blessings & Healthy Living,

Magnolia

Friday & Eating Not-so-Healthy

So for breakfast & lunch I did great, but dinner well.... There are times that you just have to go with your gut (or your crazings). And tonight J and I were wanting Mexican, so that's what we ate. Do I regret it, no I don't. If we didn't go eat Mexican tonight then we would have been craving it even more and more than likely eaten more when we did decide to go. The lesson here is that if you have cravings, don't ignore them. Just remember that you can't eat that way everyday (or every other day for that matter). This is one of the hardest lessons for me to learn, for a long time I really wanted to be good everyday, but I slowly found that it's just not possible. So if I blow it every once in a while, I've learned it's ok. I just need to get back to healthy eating tomorrow morning. Be good to yourself, take care of yourself, but don't think that you are in a prison. So next time you've been really good and need some "junk", go for it. Eat in moderation and enjoy.

Blessings & Mexican,
Magnolia

PS. Good thing I went to the gym before I ate!

Thursday - Busy, Busy, Busy

So can you tell that I was busy today?!?!? But even though I've had a hectic day, I still ate healthy and blogging to tell you about it. Why, just so that you know that even though you're busy you can still eat the right things. So what do I mean by busy, let's see, work 8-5, ran errands on my lunch break, left work, ran more errands and had a hair appointment this evening. So in a nutshell, I was not home from 7:30am until almost 9pm. That's a pretty long day. So if I can stay away from the pastry counter at Starbucks and only leave with regular coffee at dinner time, you can too.

So how does my hair look you ask -- FANTASTIC!! Like I've said in the past, I'm high maintenance. I love to have great hair, fantastic makeup and pretty darn cool clothes, that's just me. Thank goodness I have a good job that allows me to do these things.

So until tomorrow,
Blessings & Stay busy,
Magnolia

Wednesday - Healthy Choices

So what do I mean by healthy eating? I mean, making good choices for you and your body. Good choices for me are a 6oz filet vs. a 20oz porterhouse, a baked sweet potato vs. steak fries, baked/grilled chicken vs. fried chicken. Other good choices for me are fresh friuts & vegetables every day. Of course, there are still days that I crave and eat that fried chicken or those steak fries, but not everyday, usually once every couple of months. I'm only human, I have cravings, I have needs (wants are more like it). And do I have a small handful of jelly beans every day, you bet (those things are addictive, very addictive). Like I said in the previous post, I'm not going to tell you what I eat every day, but rather if I've had a good healthy eating day or not. What you or I eat is pretty irrelivent. Everyone's choices and likes are different. But I will from time to time give you some info on "good" foods that I like. Today's food is a "no-brainer".....

Apples (right now I am eating Gala Apples)
1 Medium Apple (3" diameter)
95 calories & 0 fat
Good source of fiber & Vitamin C
(www. nutrition.self.com is a great info source)

So that's it for today, until tomorrow....

Blessings & Good Choices,
Magnolia

Tuesday - And Still on the Horse

Yep, it's Tuesday and I'm still on the the healthy eating wagon for another day, yeah me! So since that's the case, let's talk about what led me to this new me.....

Back in mid to late August, I was reading some posts on Facebook about the 20 year reunion of the high school class a year a head of me. I noticed that many of the people I knew in high school were seriously unrecognizable. I mean, some people had really let themselves go and not in a good way either. Of course, at the time I just thought, well shame on them. Little did I know that a week later, I would have my picture taken at my niece's tennis social and my well meaning sister sent me a copy. (Just a background check on me, I don't like having my picture taken, regardless) So back to the picture, have you ever had a moment that when you saw your own picture and just sat back and said to yourself, "that is not me" or at least not the me that I remember. That was me, I just sat and cried, thank goodness J wasn't home. I knew that in a year that people would be saying the same things about me when my reunion rolled around. Is that how I want to see myself --- HECK NO! was my response. So that was the kick start to all of this. I just couldn't stand the sight of my own image and was thoroughly discussed. The very next day I started eating better and heading my happy butt to the gym.

So how do I see myself now you ask, well in a little better light, that's for sure, still don't like having my picture taken though. I see myself as a work in progress and probably will for the rest of my life, but I know that I'm healthier and happier with this new me. So what's it going to take for you?!?!? I don't know that answer, only you do.

Blessings and Healthy Eating,
Magnolia

PS. I carry that picture with me everyday, and if I need a reminder of why I am eating healthier and exercising, I just pull it out.

Monday - Another Brand New Day

So today is Monday and another brand new day. That's how I think of each and every day now, whether it's work, diet or exercise, everyday is a new day. It took a long time coming for me to think that way. It started with my healthy eating, because some days, well let's just say that I'm not so healthy. But my new motto is tomorrow is another day and we're going to get back up on that horse and ride it again (that is when I fall off the healthy eating wagon). And that thought process has carried over to different areas of my life.

So why is today another brand new day, well like many of you, I ate some, let's say, not so great stuff last night while watching the Super Bowl, but how many people didn't?!?!? I mean I didn't eat a whole pizza or anything, but a few too many chicken wings would be a pretty fair assumption. So what did I do today, well I went right back to eating healthy (healthy for me that is, because everyone is different). One thing that I am going to refrain from on this blog is tell you what I eat. Let's just say that I eat between 1200 and 1500 calories a day. But that's healthy for me, but might not be for you. I firmly believe that everyone is different and their bodies require different things. But the main point here is that even though I ate a few more calories yesterday, I started right back eating healthy the very next meal. If I can do it you can too.

My helpful tip for the day is this "Just because you may have eaten a few more calories that normal, doesn't mean you really messed up and can't redeem yourself. Always know that tomorrow is a brand new day, and you can always start again."

Oh, a few (about 45) minutes on the treadmill, was a great way to kick start the week. So back on the horse I am for now, until the next time.

Blessings & Healthy Eating,
Magnolia

New Title, New Me

So, wondering about the change of title?!?!? Well, over the past few years, I've shared a few things on this blog about myself, but not a lot. You know about my passion for shopping (and great deals), that my father died from Alzheimer's disease (another passion of mine), but what you don't know is that I've always struggled with my weight. And when I mean always, I mean for as long as I can remember (3rd grade or so). So I've decided to change gears a little and speak to you about things that I've become passionate about in the last 8 or so months and that would be getting healthy. Of course from time to time, I'll add a post or 2 about other passions. But I think that it's time that I can use this blog for something really good, and that's helping others that have the same fears, resentment, anger and disappointment about their weight.

So what about the title of this post, well, I guess you can say that over the last 8 months, a new me has really emerged. I discovered that my blood pressure was high, I am borderline diabetic (runs in the family) and that I was totally ticked about the way I looked in pictures, just for starters, so while J was on one of his missions, I decided to make some changes, first to my attitude, 2nd to my "diet" and 3rd my exercise habits. And because of these changes and a lot of help from the good Lord above, I've gone from a size 14 to a size 4 or 6. What I'll be talking about in the blog is my journey on this "Road to the New Me." And hopefully, it will made sense to someone, somewhere and it will help. So for now, stay tuned. And remember that we're going to take this journey together, so don't ever think that you're alone.

Blessings & Healthly Eating,
Magnolia