This is who I am

I’m getting old

Posted on November 8, 2014 by Terri | Comments Off

30 years and 9 months ago, I made this. I consider it one of my greatest accomplishments because despite my many, many mistakes and errors in judgment, he has grown into a wonderful young man.

I know it’s been too long, and I apologize. I am trying to remedy that. Still stitching. Still sewing. Still cooking. I went on a quilt retreat. Now I’m also back to recruiting for Phoenix ComiCon. I think it was those pesky goals I set for myself, so they’re going away. Retired life, for me, is supposed to be all about fun, not deadlines.

I also have been staying away from my computer, but this post is being made from my tablet with a little input from my phone, and this makes me happy!

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Posted in Family

Tuesday Weigh In

Posted on September 30, 2014 by Terri | 2 comments

Oops, I disappeared there for a bit. Didn’t realize it had been 2 weeks, or that I didn’t post my last weigh in. I only weighed last week, instead of also taping, because I had an early morning Dr. appt and some other running around.

Beginning weight: 266
Prior week: 247.5
Last week: 247 (-.6)
This week: 245.2 (-1.8)
Total loss to date: -20.8

No measurements this week. I did tape myself but I need to figure out what I’m doing and draw myself a diagram or something. I honestly can’t remember from week to week if I’m measuring in the same spot. I know, but it is what it is. LOL

I continue to be happy with my nice, slow and steady wins the race, losses each week and thrilled with how I’m eating. It’s been a learning experience but it’s definitely easy. I do come up with some walls when we go out, but I remind myself this is a lifestyle change, and I deserve to have a little naughty in my life in all aspects 😉

Over the past two weeks I’ve been trying on those “maybe this will fit me again one day” clothes from years back. Some of them do fit me again, but I don’t like them, so my donation box is expanding along with the number of empty hangers. This weekend, I spent tons of time on Pinterest looking at clothes. I’ve posted tons of things on my My Style board and tomorrow I’m going to start looking for some wardrobe basics to go with what I’ve kept. First time in a long time I’m sort of excited to be shopping for clothes, so I’ve set aside a small budget to start building. It’s weird-looking for casual clothes and not professional ones, so I keep in mind that I can switch a dressy skirt for some jeans to keep an outfit I like more casual. I have a weekend trip in a few months that I’m keeping in mind while I shop, as well.

On a downer, I’ve had to give up Zumba for a while. I’m hoping it’s my shoes, but it’s been killing my knees, so much that I can’t take my daily walk the next day and not be hobbling the rest of the day. So for now, I’m back to walking and I’ve set myself a goal to walk (or hike) every day this week. Yesterday I increased my distance and was able to keep it the same time as the shorter distance.

I’ve installed an app on my phone to help me track, and will be changing distances on Tuesday. I haven’t decided on how often to increase the distance.

Last week 2.08 mi
This week 2.46 mi

2 Comments

Posted in Walking, Weight

Tuesday weigh in

Posted on September 16, 2014 by Terri | Comments Off

Beginning weight: 266
Last week: 249.2
This week: 247.6 (-1.6)
Total loss to date: -18.4

Beginning measurements: (C 45.5 – W 47.8 – H 54.8)
Last week / This week:
Chest 43.8 / 43.4 (-.4 / -2.1)
Waist 43.5 / 43.1 (-.4 / -4.7)
Hips 54.4 / 52.9 (-1.5 / -1.9)

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Posted in Weight

What I have been up to

Posted on September 11, 2014 by Terri | Comments Off

It feels like very little.

I have not had a physical activity day since Labor Day. 🙁

The 3rd I woke up and my knees and back were hurting so I didn’t go to Zumba.

The 5th I didn’t go hiking because I had a walking foot quilting class that morning and I would have had to be out there in the dark. After seeing that huge sidewinder track, I’m not dumb enough to be out there in the dark.

Here’s my little bit of progress from class

However, the 5th did find me sweating. A lot. I went to an outdoor Blake Shelton/The Band Perry/Neal McCoy concert that night and man oh man! I swear I sweated out a pound and a half. I actually had water running down my back. It was worth it though:

Saturday it started raining.

Mister and I went out to eat late Saturday afternoon and just as we were leaving to head back home the huge rain drops started. Before we could get out of the parking lot the wind started rolling in and you could see it coming. It was rocking my Challenger around and was rather frightening. It was also snapping tree limbs off. We had a huge micro-burst hit us and have probably lost my beautiful Mesa Palo Verde tree in the backyard.
2014-09-06 17.33.17

Sunday was cleanup time and lots of sewing and football.

When we headed to bed Sunday night it has just started sprinkling again. Thunder woke me up about 2:30 Monday morning and the day just got better. Hurricane Norbert had headed our way, and with all the rain we had Saturday our state was saturated. I sat and watched our pool fill and the rest of the yard flood and head toward our house. Fortunately, it never made it all the way but the roads around my area were closed, so no leaving the house. No Zumba. Thankfully, it wasn’t a school day for Mister.

Tuesday, I was supposed to have a hair cut but got a message from my salon that they were going to have to reschedule due to water issues so I headed to the grocery store.

Wednesday, yesterday, I completely forgot about Zumba. I had lost track of what day of the week it was, which I sometimes do.

So, now it’s Thursday and I’m sitting here in front of the computer and I really need to be sitting in front of my sewing machine instead 😉

I have been sewing on my Scrappy BOM Challenge, Wild & Goosey blocks, and Civil War tablerunner

One last thought.

It’s very hard for me to believe it’s been 13 years since that horrific day. I honestly don’t think about it much anymore, except for days like this. I know that sounds terrible, but I lived in fear every single day for 10 years while my Mister spent his last 10 years in the Marine Corps. It’s one of those things I try very hard to forget about being a Marine Corps Wife, but it is still there in the back of my mind and I fight to not let it surface or I become a wreck, and because of that I purposefully stay away from the TV and social media because unlike a lot of other people, I do not want to remember, over and over and over.

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Posted in Civil War Club, Concert, Guild Block Challenge, Wild & Goosey

Chicken Cacciatore

Posted on September 11, 2014 by Terri | 2 comments

One of the things I’ve been very consistent with is pre-prepping my food after I kill it and bring it home 😉 This is something I tried to do when I was attempting to lose with Weight Watchers, but it never became a habit. Now, my refrigerator constantly looks like it’s full of leftovers because I slice, dice, and chop before I put something up. At first I was worried about “what if I need this carrot for a recipe?” then realized – with very few exceptions – it really doesn’t matter how it’s cut up, as long as it’s in there. There is always bowls of carrots, peppers, and broccoli, and usually mushrooms (but I forgot to grab them this week, which makes me sad). I do the same thing with melons.

Another thing I’ve learned is that organic grown tastes better. I used to shy away from raw carrots because I couldn’t stand the dry taste of the “baby” carrots, or how wet they’d get in the package after opened. I’ve learned why they’re like that, but that’s a post for another day.

Organic carrots are sweeter. Like kale, I now throw carrots in just about everything I cook these days. I buy 2 pounds, and immediately cut half of them into coins and toss them in a bowl when I get home. I grab a handful for lunch, or toss them in our salads. I also eat almost a whole one while I’m cutting them up. I don’t cut them all up since I keep some back for roasting, but I usually have to slice some more to refill our bowl.

The great thing about this is the ease to grab a handful and chow down. We eat a lot of non-lettuce salads around here now.

My mom used to make Chicken Cacciatore when I was growing up. (Cacciatore means “hunter” in Italian. ) This reminds me of her recipe, but it’s not the same. It has a super quick prep time, since my veggies are already prepped, but it is something that you need to plan as it takes about an hour to simmer. It’s made with my favorite jarred sauce:

Chicken Cacciatore

4 chicken thighs (skin on)
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 jar tomato/basil pasta sauce
1/2 bag broccoli slaw
1/2 C rough cut mushrooms
1 C rough cut carrots
1 C rough cut peppers (red, yellow, orange)
1 C rough cut kale (or spinach)

Pour olive oil in a non-stick pan. Heat on medium high and fry thighs until brown on each side. Use a large enough pan that the thighs do not touch. Pour a thin layer of sauce into a pan and place thighs skin side down on top. In a bowl, mix remainder of sauce and all the veggies, and pour on top of chicken. Cover, and cook on medium to a boil, then low for 30 minutes. Turn chicken over, cover back with sauce, and cook an additional 30 minutes.

It will be thick at first, but will thin out during cooking. The veggies never get mushy during cooking. And I’m pretty much guestimating the amount of veggies since I just grab a handful and toss them in.

Serves 4.

2 Comments

Posted in Recipe

Tagged Paleo recipe

Tuesday weigh in

Posted on September 9, 2014 by Terri | Comments Off

Beginning weight: 266
Last week: 251.8
This week: 249.2 (-2.6)
Total loss to date: -16.8

Beginning measurements: (C 45.5 – W 47.8 – H 54.8)
Last week / This week:
Chest 44.8 / 43.8 (-1 / -1.7)
Waist 44.9 / 43.5 (-1.4 / -4.3)
Hips 53.6 / 54.4 (+.8 / -.4)

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Posted in Weight

Not a very productive needle weekend

Posted on September 2, 2014 by Terri | Comments Off

Thinking back over the past 4 days, and can’t believe how much I didn’t get done needlework wise. I think I spent more time out of the house this weekend than in. I did manage to finish my portion of my friend’s round robin

and I managed to make my working copy of the SamSarah mystery piece.

The only time spent in front of my sewing machine, though, was stuffed animal repair and reattaching the carrying strap on Mister’s canvas bag he takes to school. Jasper and Mister are ecstatic. Mister, of course, said it was a very productive needle weekend. Terri thinks otherwise, since this means I didn’t get a Wild & Goosey block made 🙁

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Posted in Carriage House Samplings, Stitching, Wild & Goosey

Tagged Bonnie Hunter Wild & Goosey, SamSarah 2014 Mystery

Weighing In

Posted on September 2, 2014 by Terri | 3 comments

Beginning weight: 266
Last week: 253.4
This week: 251.8 (-1.6)
Total loss to date: -14.2

Beginning measurements: (C 45.5 – W 47.8 – H 54.8)
Last week / This week:
Chest 44.1 / 44.8 (+.7 / -.7)
Waist 45 / 44.9 (-.1 / -2.9) (Beginning from 2 weeks ago since I measured wrong last week)
Hips 54.4 / 53.6 (-8 / -1.2)

Beginning Fat%/BMI: 47.2% / 40.6

Last week / This week:
Fat 47.2% / 47.5% (+.3 / +.3)
BMI 40.6 / 40.6 (0 / 0)

I cut out fruit for dinner this past week, and now am having it at most 2x a day. I also switched back to unsweetened almond milk (Mister likes the original version, which is sweetened some). Zumba only once, but hiking twice. One more week of 3 “cardio” days and I’ll start adding in 2 days of body weight exercises.

3 Comments

Posted in Weight

Happy First Day of September

Posted on September 1, 2014 by Terri | Comments Off

Wow! I can’t believe it’s already September! I’ve decided to give monthly goal setting another try, but I always feel like I jinx myself by doing this. I’m an out-of-sight-out-of-mind kind of gal, so I’m hoping putting them here on my blog face will help me see what I need to be working on.

*June Grey BOM
*September Brown BOM
*4 Wild & Goosey Blocks
*Start rows of Flower Box quilt
*Quilt, Bind, and hang Walking Foot Quilt
*Farmer’s Wife block #7
*Start SamSarah Mystery XS

No Zumba at the Y today, due to the holiday so we’re hiking. After showers we’re going to take advantage of a coupon we have for Roadrunner Sports, then we’re vegging the rest of the day. Or rather, I am, since Mister has homework 😉 Grilled ribs, broccoli slaw, and potato salad is on the menu, followed up by Monday Night Football! Woohoo!

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Posted in Life

A whole lot of spending going on

Posted on August 31, 2014 by Terri | Comments Off

Yesterday Mister and I went shopping. It’s been a long time since the 2 of us shopped like this. I had a list and some coupons and was on a mission to replace some things and wanted his opinion. I love to shop with him.

First stop, not on my list but his, was Sports Chalet. He wanted me to have an easy to carry water bottle for our hikes since he’s going to start running and leaving me hiking on my own. He normally humps a Camelback. I also needed a whistle. Isn’t he thoughtful?

Next was Bed, Bath and Beyond and here’s where I did some major damage. I had 20% off coupons from before September 2011 😀 I love BB&B!

Asian Fusion Wok and Spider

We eat a lot of stir fried foods and even though I lived in Okinawa for 6 years I’ve never owned a wok. It’s been on my wish list for a long time, but it seems like other things always bumped it down the list. I also wanted a spider since they’re great for poaching eggs.

Salad spinner, dressing carafe, storage jar, Spirooli

I bought the cheapest salad spinner I could find. I didn’t want a fancy one, and I wanted a small one since I normally wash our greens after I’ve chopped them. My current dressing carafe leaks so it needed replacing. The storage jar is the first of several I’ll be buying for my non-gluten baking goods. And the Spirooli! I can’t wait to start using it for zucchini noodles, etc. Huge shout out and “thank you” to Mel for all of our back and forth texting and email conversations about this lovely 😀

Zwilling J.A. Henckels Pro 7″ Santoku Knife and Steel

I have had Henckels knives for about 5 years. Mister bought me paring and utility knives for Christmas one year, and it was an immediate love affair. I never knew I was that capable with a kitchen knife until I had a quality one to use. Good knives, and a good cutting board (I use bamboo), are miracle makers, and while I’ve always loved to cook, those 3 items ramped up my skills. The next year I bought myself a 5 1/2″ Santoku knife and just about swooned. It was so much better than my slicing knife. I’ve had a steel for a while, but lately my knives have felt like I needed to sharpen them more often. Yesterday, I found out that the steel I have been using wasn’t hard enough for the Henckels. I went in to the store to buy myself a Chef’s knife, but ended up with a 7″ Santoku instead after my 30 minute conversation with the “knife guy.” I had to go find Mister afterward, since he got bored and wandered off. LOL I still have that chef’s knife and a peeling knife on my wish list. I also have the bread knife, but am now considering taking it off the list since, hey!, I don’t eat bread anymore. 😉

I headed over to another store to look at sheets but decided on some at BB&B and trotted back in there to snatch them.

I have 1 more purchase to make. I want a Lodge 6-qt Enameled Dutch Oven, and a Lodge 8-9″ skillet, then I’ll be set.

Mister’s 35 mile bike ride had him dragging and he wanted lunch at Olive Garden. Of course, by that time it was 1:30. What I ordered was okay, and I left food there instead of bringing it home. Since we ate so late we ended up just having a snack at 8 last night.

I guess I’ve made up my mind about which version of Dear Jane I want to do. I had posted a photo of an Amish version in this blog post, and this morning I ordered this:

Kona Swatch Card

303 cotton swatches.

Still haven’t sewn this weekend. I did stitch last night during the LSU game. Boy was THAT something to raise my blood pressure.

Today’s a lazy day. A little bit of laundry, and decide how to prepare some salmon for dinner tonight, are my only have-to-dos for the day. Want to get a Wild & Goosey block stitched up and then get on my Civil War Club tablerunner.